


Champagne and Cigarettes

by mysehuniverse



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Break Up, Drinking, Fights, Hate Sex, Idol Kim Jongin | Kai, Intern Sejeong, Lack of Communication, M/M, Makeup Artist Sehun, Model Kim Jongin | Kai, Past Relationship(s), Post-Break Up, Rough Sex, Second Chances, Sehun has many bad habits, Smoking, Smut, There is SeBaek if you squint, ex boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:00:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23153647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysehuniverse/pseuds/mysehuniverse
Summary: Sehun was living an average life as a makeup artist for a fashion house in Seoul when his boss assigns him to their new muse, Kim Jongin. He is Sehun's ex boyfriend. The same ex that dumped him four years ago without any proper explanation.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Oh Sehun
Comments: 55
Kudos: 411
Collections: PROJECT 94 Round 2





	Champagne and Cigarettes

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to the mods for being so patient to me! thank you to whoever submitted this prompt, i hope this reached your expectations! the same goes for the readers, i hope you'd enjoy reading this!
> 
> before reading i just want to make a few notes:
> 
> 1\. i don't specifically know about how fashion houses and campaigns work so this isn't accurate  
> 2\. i don't really use makeup so i had to search the procedures for applying makeup for this. lol.

It was a busy day at the office. People are running around frantically, phones are ringing endlessly, everyone looks on edge. Their launch for their new collection is coming up and today is the day where their new “muses” are coming. They started off based in Los Angeles but as the brand grew and became more well-known, they started doing launches worldwide as well. The launch in Seoul is one of the most important events because their creative director is Korean and he has been planning this for a while now ever since he took over the brand so they can’t afford to mess up. 

Sehun is not really one of the busy ones. He’s more relaxed compared to the rest. It’s the designers and event organizers that are currently busy and losing their sleep and hair over this fashion launch. As a make-up artist, this is just another event for Sehun. 

Although it does excite him a bit to meet the new faces of their brand. Baekhyun, their creative director whom he has grown close to over the years, assigned him to one of their muses but he has been secretive about it. 

_"You'll find out at the same time as all the other employees. He's a big name though so you better take care of him well."_

That's what Baekhyun told him when he asked him one late night when they were both working overtime. Well at least Baekhyun did give the hint that he'll be assigned to the male model. 

Today is finally that day. The meeting will start soon and they will get to meet the two new faces of their brand. His phone vibrates in his pocket and when he checks, some of the stylists are already looking for him and telling him to hurry into the meeting room soon since he has to be there before their important guests arrive.

Sehun heads to the pantry first to make his morning coffee before going to the meeting room. He was just finishing up his coffee when he receives another text that Baekhyun is already in the room. Sehun spills the remaining coffee onto the sink, tosses his coffee cup into the trash bin before dashing towards the meeting room. 

Baekhyun gives him an unimpressed look when he sees him running towards the glass doors. Sehun clears his throat and greets him with a cheeky smile. “Sit down, Sehun.” Baekhyun mutters. 

“Sorry,” he says before taking his seat. 

Baekhyun takes a look around the room to check if everyone is already there. Once he’s sure, he calls their attention and starts. 

"I want you all to be on your best behavior today. I know you are all excited to meet our soon to be brand ambassadors and I know most of you already have your guesses." Baekhyun says. Some of the stylists exchange a few whispers and giggles, Baekhyun's secretary immediately shushes them. "No need for guessing though because I just got a text that they arrived so they'll be coming soon." 

"And please," Kyungsoo, their event organizer, calls out tiredly. "Be professional, don't ask for pictures and don't try befriending them. They are here for work, not a fan meeting. Is that understood?" 

"Yes sir." they agree in unison. 

Sehun is still curious about who it could be. He's not really a die hard fan of anyone in particular but it does excite him in a way. 

"Ah, she's here. Womenswear team, meet your muse." Baekhyun smiles when he sees a group of people approaching the glass doors. 

Some of his co-workers gasp and squeal out of excitement. Sehun's brows raise in interest. Baekhyun is impressive. 

"It's nice to meet you all." she greets. 

Right in front of them is Jennie Kim, a very popular idol. She's very sought out by many known brands. His co-workers are all gushing over her.

"Thanks for coming today Jennie. We're looking forward to working with you. They will be taking care of you for our upcoming campaign and launch." Baekhyun points over to the womenswear team.

"Wow, if Jennie is going to model for us I wonder who the guy could be. He's definitely going to be a big name as well." Sejeong, one of the interns assigned to his team, whispers excitedly. 

"Yeah, definitely." Sehun nods in agreement. 

"Take a seat first Jennie, we'll start discussing about the launch once he arrives." Baekhyun says. 

Jennie nods as she is offered a seat. "He's always fashionably late." she giggles. 

Baekhyun chuckles. "That's not a problem at all--ah wait, his manager texted me they're almost here." 

While they were waiting, some of the staff introduced themselves to Jennie. She had to know who was in charge of styling and makeup anyways. 

Sehun was on his phone the whole time so he wasn't able to see when someone was approaching the glass doors. 

It wasn't until he was hearing surprised gasps when he decided to take his attention off of his phone. 

_This has got to be a joke._

He feels his blood running cold and he freezes on his seat. Of all people, of all celebrities, of all models why did it have to be _him?_

"Menswear team meet your muse, Kim Kai." Baekhyun introduces. Everyone in the room is practically gushing over him. 

He is greeted by everyone in the room and he gracefully greets them all back with a smile on his face. 

Kim Kai is a multimedia star. He is a singer, actor, dancer and model. He is extremely popular and a lot of brands would love to work with him. That's what he is to everyone… but to Sehun, he's someone different. 

He wasn't Kai, he was Jongin. He wasn't a celebrity, he was his boyfriend. He was his lover, his partner, his _everything._ But that all changed when Jongin suddenly broke up with him for no proper reason. He just left without any proper explanation and Sehun was left clueless and heartbroken. 

Sehun wanted to forget him, he wanted to move on but how could he? Six months after their breakup, Jongin became a star and he simply kept rising to the top. It was hard to move on when you see your ex boyfriend's face plastered everywhere be it on tv shows, dramas and social media. 

He avoided everything, that's why he isn't fond of any celebrities. He eventually distracted himself and moved on. He got a job, he dated different people, he got new friends but now he realizes that all his efforts were in vain because here he is, completely malfunctioning in front of Jong--no, Kai. 

And it is completely ridiculous because it has been four years since they broke up.

"Sehun? Hey Oh Sehun!" Baekhyun's voice snapped him back to reality. Baekhyun is looking at him with wide eyes. 

"Yes?" Sehun asks. 

Baekhyun's eye twitches in annoyance while his co-workers grimace. Only then did Sehun realize that everyone from his team was standing up to greet Kai while he's still seated. 

Sehun stands up and he gathers all the strength to look at Kai. Said man looks calm as ever, he's gotten more gorgeous as the years passed by. He has grown into his features well, he has gotten broader and more toned. 

"As I was saying, this is Sehun. He's in charge of the makeup department. He's one of my best so I assigned him to you." Baekhyun says as he widens his eyes again at Sehun as if he's telling him to get his shit together and not embarrass himself any further. 

Sehun tries his best to look composed. He smiles and slightly bows at the man. "It's nice to meet you Kai, everyone has been looking forward to meeting our muse." he says. 

Jongin tilts his head as he looks at him. Sehun does not miss the mischievous glint in his eyes before smirking. "I look forward to working with you. Please take care of me well." 

"Yeah," Sehun avoids eye contact and sits down again. "We do our job well."

Beside him, Sejeong gives him a weird look like she noticed that something was off with him while Baekhyun gives him a look that clearly says _'We'll talk later'_. 

"Anyways, let's start with the discussion about this launch." Kyungsoo smoothly changes the subject. "We also have a scheduled photoshoot with Jennie and Kai after this just for the formalities. We'll officially announce the news by today." 

"Sounds exciting." Jennie clasps her hands while Jongin nods and smiles. 

Baekhyun switches to the powerpoint presentation on his laptop as someone dimmed the lights. "Okay then, let's discuss." 

  
  


Sehun couldn't focus throughout the whole presentation because despite the dimmed lights, he could feel a familiar pair of eyes on him from time to time. 

It was like a breath of fresh air for him when the meeting ended. They were asked to leave while Jongin and Jennie went with Baekhyun and the designers for their fitting. But Sehun's long day doesn't end there because there will be a photoshoot later and Sehun will have to face Jongin again one way or another. 

"Are you alright? You seemed a bit distracted there." Sejeong asks once they were out of the conference room. 

Sehun shakes his head. "I'm fine, I just feel a bit overwhelmed." 

Sejeong nods as she pouts her lips. "I can relate. I know that this launch is a big deal but I didn't know that it's _this_ big!" she makes an exaggerated gesture with her outstretched arms. "Jennie and Kai in one project? I feel like I'm gonna faint. I'm the luckiest intern ever." she squeals. 

Sehun rolls his eyes since that's not what he meant but he smiles in amusement anyways. Thank God that Sejeong is assigned to him, she'd definitely brighten up his mood with her bubbly personality. 

"I'll be at my desk in case you need me. They won't be calling us until this afternoon and I have nothing for you to do right now so feel free to enjoy your free time." Sehun says. 

"For real?" Sejeong asks. 

"Yes but don't look for or follow Jennie and Kai, I'll give you demerits if that happens." Sehun warns. 

"Oh please, if you need me I'll be eating at the pantry." the intern waves off. 

Sehun sighs and returns to their floor before slumping onto his desk. He can't believe it. He should have insisted on finding out who their new muse was, Sehun could have at least backed out on this project. 

They were just college students when Jongin chose to leave him and now they meet again as professionals, except that they are now worlds apart--and yet, those worlds still somehow collide.

"Why am I even the one freaking out?" Sehun grumbles in disbelief as he absentmindedly spins on his office chair. "He's the one that left me, I'm not the one at fault… right?" 

Sehun pulls his hair in frustration and huffs. _"He's the one that owes you an explanation, Sehun. You shouldn't be the one affected."_ he internally whines.

He decides to use his free time wisely. After years of avoiding, he searches for pictures of Jongin--or Kai as he's known now--and takes some notes about his previous makeup looks. His best asset is his lips and his eyes are really deep, dark, mischievous and flirty. He could experiment a lot. Sehun nearly curses when he realizes that he's been staring at his picture for too long. He sticks to reading articles instead. 

Sehun's brows furrow when he sees Jennie's name on the related searches. When he clicks on it, he sees a few articles regarding a dating rumor about the two recently. 

Is this why Baekhyun chose them? Is it for publicity and media play too? Or perhaps the two might really be a package deal since they're a couple? 

Sehun decides to not dwell on it and exits the browser. He plugs in his earphones and takes a nap instead. 

It hasn’t been long until he’s awoken by someone gently tapping his shoulder. He groans and yawns before looking up. “What?” he asks when he sees Sejeong.

“Uhm… your meeting with Kai has moved since they finished with wardrobe fitting already. Mr. Byun’s assistant told me to call you.” she says. 

Sehun mentally curses as he rubbed his temples. “Right now?” 

The intern nods. “Yeah… now.” 

Sehun checks his phone and he sees the messages that he received while he’s napping. They really were telling him to get ready. “Oh Lord, how long was I asleep?” 

“Two hours?” Sejeong squeaks out.

So much for a nap. Sehun sighs and stands up. “You’re coming with me.” he tells her. 

“But the other interns weren’t allowed to personally meet up with the artists though.” Sejeong tells him. 

“This is for work and I need you to come with me.” Sehun assures her. There’s no way that Sehun is meeting up with Jongin alone. 

“Wow, okay sure. Wait… do I look okay? I should have worn something nicer.” she flippantly says. 

“This isn’t some fan event, kid.” Sehun scoffs as they get on the elevator. 

“Daily reminder that you’re only two years older than me.” she rolls her eyes.

“Daily reminder that I’m still your supervisor.” Sehun breezily adds as the elevator opens. They both get off and Sehun dreads the feeling as he’s walking towards the studio. The first thing he sees once he enters is Baekhyun’s serious stare and more unimpressed looks from the rest of the staff. Sejeong visibly flinches and subtly steps behind him to hide herself. 

“I apologize for being late and as for the intern, I was the one that told her to come.” he explains as he approaches Baekhyun. 

“The intern is not a problem, this is about you being late.” the creative director whispers. 

“I didn’t know that the mee--” Sehun stops when he sees that Jennie and Jongin were both looking at him as well. “I’m sorry.” he says again instead. 

“Anyway, sorry to keep you waiting but since Sehun is finally here we may begin.” Baekhyun tells them.

“So here are the clothes that they will wear for the shoot today. Sehun please coordinate with Jennie’s stylist, to make sure they match. This should’ve been done if you came earlier though.” Junmyeon, the one in charge of wardrobe, says. 

Sehun approaches Jisoo, Jennie’s makeup artist, instead and discusses about the makeup that they plan on doing for the pair. Sejeong diligently listens and takes notes.

Once they’re done talking, Baekhyun tells them that Jennie and Jongin are already waiting at their respective dressing rooms. “Am I allowed in the dressing room?” Sejeong curiously asks. 

“Of course.” Sehun answers all too quickly. He feels a bit bad for using the intern like this but then again, she is having the time of her life because she’s a fan after all. 

Sehun knocks on the door first and he only enters when he hears a faint voice saying “Come in,”. Jongin’s manager is inside. Sehun and Sejeong greets them both. The manager introduces himself as Jongdae.

“Where is--” Sehun doesn’t get to finish his sentence because only then did he notice that Jongin is at the corner of the room in the midst of changing his shirt. “Oh, sorry.” 

“Nah, it’s okay. He doesn’t mind.” Jongdae chuckles. “I apologize to your intern though.”

Sejeong actually averts her gaze the moment she realizes it. “Oh no, it’s fine. This is his dressing room after all.” she giggles. 

Jongin smiles at the two of them. “It’s a pleasure to meet you again.” 

Sehun simply returns his smile while Sejeong giddily says that it’s an honor to work with him. Normally, supervisors would tell their interns to avoid talking to the artists but Sehun allows her anyways. 

“So, shall we get started?” Sehun asks. The sooner they start the sooner they finish.

Jongin nods and takes a seat on the chair. “Have you two eaten?” he suddenly asks. 

Sehun’s brows furrowed in confusion while Sejeong slowly nods. “Ah, I haven’t yet. Jongdae and I were in a hurry this morning.” he explains. “Are there any restaurants or cafes nearby?” 

“Oh there are quite a few outside but there are a lot to choose from our cafeteria too.” Sejeong answers. 

Jongin turns to Jongdae and grins. His manager rolls his eyes and sighs in defeat. “Fine, I’ll buy some for you.” 

Sehun actually finally processes what’s going on and before he could even open his mouth to counter, Jongin suddenly beats him to it. “Is it alright if you come with Jongdae? He’s a bit indecisive, he’ll end up calling me multiple times to ask what I want so it’s best if you make suggestions for him.” 

Sejeong, being the overexcited fan that she is, enthusiastically agrees. “Of course! I’d be glad to.” 

“Perfect. Thanks.” Jongin smiles. 

“I’ll be back.” Jongdae tells him. 

“Take your time.” 

Sejeong pats Sehun’s shoulder and tells him that she’ll be back before leaving with Jongdae. Once the door closes, Jongin relaxes in his seat and Sehun purses his lips. “Let’s get to work then?” he asks.

Jongin chuckles as he cocks an eyebrow at him. “That’s it? No _‘how have you been?’,_ no _‘it’s nice to see you again?’_?” 

Annoyance and frustration overcomes him. Time to drop the act. “Have you ever thought of telling _me_ those then?” he asks. “Because those are the last things I’d say to you.” 

“Of course I have. I was just about to ask you, how have you been?” Jongin asks as he leans back in his chair. 

It took all of Sehun’s self control to not yell profanities at the man. He has some nerves. “It’s not appropriate, I’m here to work.” he scoffs. 

“Are you always this rude to your clients?” Jongin snorts. 

Sehun forces out a smile. “My apologies, sir. Now if you excuse me, I should really start with your makeup because I am already on Baekhyun’s hit list today.” 

“It is pretty obvious that you look out of it today, I do have that effect on some people.” Jongin breezily says. 

Sehun rolls his eyes as he walks closer to the artist. “My intern is a fan.” he changes the subject. “Well I suppose more than half of the department is.” 

“And how about you?” Jongin asks. 

“I don’t really keep up with any celebrities.” Sehun answers as he’s picking the primer. He usually asks the model or the model’s manager if the artist is allergic to anything or what type of skin they have but he knows--- _knew_ Jongin well enough already.

“Oh? What kept you busy for the past years though?” Jongin asks. 

“Definitely not celebrities.” he scoffs. “I’ll apply the primer for now. Are you really going to eat first? They might call you on set soon and I am a few more strikes away from being fired.” 

Jongin looks at him with amusement. “You may proceed with the makeup. I don’t want my makeup artist getting fired now, do I?”

Sehun ignores him. "You may use your phone if you want." he says instead. He applies the primer onto the sponge. 

Jongin remains mum as Sehun got to work. Sehun has had this job for more than two years now and this is the first time that he feels this… tense.

He hasn't been this close to Jongin in years. Heck, he hasn't seen Jongin in years. Sehun just feels so unfocused. He doesn't want Jongin to have any more smug thoughts that he already has since their first encounter this morning. 

Sehun works in silence for the next few minutes. He applied the concealer, foundation and added a bit of highlighter. For a moment, Sehun felt like he's working on a regular client again. 

But of course Jongin just had to break the silence again. "Weren't you informed about me signing a contract with your company?" he asks. 

Sehun shakes his head. "Baek--Mr. Byun and the other higher ups wanted it to be a surprise." 

"No wonder you look so shaken." Jongin comments.

"I had the same reaction with Jennie." he lies. 

"You said you aren't keeping up with celebrities so unless you dated Jennie, you wouldn't have the same reaction at all." Jongin snorts. 

Sehun looks at him in annoyance. He didn't expect Jongin to bring up their past relationship this soon. "I was… surprised." he quietly says. 

Sehun takes the eyebrow pencil next. Jongin's brows are groomed well so there's not much work for him to do there. He adds a bit of eyeshadow and eyeliner next. 

He's just applying what Jisoo suggested for him to do. Since Sehun was a bit late coming on set earlier, she already made up her mind so Sehun simply takes her suggestions instead of planning his own. 

Jongin had his eyes closed as Sehun was applying the eye shadow. He momentarily freezes as he finally takes a good look at Jongin's face up close. 

His jawline is to die for. Modelling agencies would kill to have someone with his looks. "You still there?" Jongin cracks one eye open. 

Sehun clears his throat. "Yeah, just… hold still." 

Jongin closes his eyes again and Sehun continues to work. "I tried to find you, you know." Jongin mumbles. 

Sehun blinks in confusion. "What?" 

Sehun finishes off with the eye makeup and Jongin opens his eyes once again. His gaze looks much sharper now. 

"Right after our breakup, I tried to contact you again." Jongin says. 

Sehun ignores him to grab the lip liner. "I had no idea." he answers, trying to sound uninterested. 

"No idea? I called you many times. I… I even contacted your family and friends." Jongin explains. 

Sehun tries to shake the thoughts away as he takes a deep breath. "Never heard about that." he says dismissively.

"Sehun--"

"I'm going to use the lip liner, please close your mouth." Sehun cuts him off.

There was a glint of frustration in Jongin's eyes. "Oh Sehun," he says in a warning tone.

Sehun tries to not flinch, he avoids eye contact instead. "What do you want me to say?" he asks. 

"I don't know." Jongin shrugs. "Stop being so passive-aggressive? I guess?" he retorts. 

"Mister Kim, please." Sehun says, sounding defeated. "We're working, let's not do this." he pleads. 

Jongin looks like he didn't want to agree but he nods anyway. "Fine then." he slumps on his chair. 

A few seconds of silence passed by so Sehun continued working on Jongin's lips. The tension is so thick, Sehun feels like he couldn't breathe. Their eyes meet when Sehun leans closer and he just malfunctions. 

Jongin's lips are soft and plump, exactly like he remembers. He can't count how many times he has kissed those lips or how many times they're been all over his body. He wonders what Jongin is thinking of because the other is looking at him too.

Jongin was about to lean forward when the door suddenly opened. Sehun instinctively stood straight while Jongin relaxed on his seat. 

"I wasn't sure what you wanted so I bought a bunch." Jongdae says as he and Sejeong placed the food on the table. "Sejeong knows the place well." 

"The dumplings are the best, you should try them." Sejeong suggests.

“I’ll try them once I’m done with the shoot. Thank you for accompanying Jongdae, Sejeong.” he smiles. 

Sejeong smiles giddily in return. “It’s nothing. I’m happy to help.” She quickly stops herself and looks at Sehun. She probably thinks that Sehun is going to scold her for being friendly towards the artist. 

“Don’t worry about acting enthusiastic around me, it’s alright.” Jongin notices so he speaks up himself. “I’m sure your supervisor can spare that.” he then looks in Sehun’s direction.

Sehun looks towards Jongin’s manager. “If Kai is alright with it then it’s not a problem.” he shrugs. 

“I’ll see to it that my intern stays in her best behavior.” Sehun says with a bow. Sejeong nods in agreement and does the same, but she can’t keep the smile off of her lips. 

  
  


It did not take long until Jongin got called on set. They did his individual shoot first. Sehun is watching at the side for any retouches on Jongin’s makeup. It’s amazing how Jongin easily grabs everyone’s attention. Every pose and every gaze he gives has everyone swooning. Sehun has seen some of his photoshoots before, it’s unavoidable when he practically graced every fashion magazine in existence, and Sehun has to admit that he really is good at what he does. 

“He’s so dreamy, isn’t he?” Sejeong coos from beside him.

“Try to be subtle because someone might not allow you to come with me next time.” Sehun reprimands.

“I can’t help it. Kim Kai is just so… perfect.” She whispers. “Look at him, don’t you think he’s sexy?” 

Sehun lazily glances over at Jongin. How does one person exude so much charisma and sex appeal? Come to think of it, even back then he already stands out. No wonder Sehun easily fell for him. 

Jongin was done in thirty minutes then Jennie got called in. Sejeong and Jongdae said they'll stay outside to watch while Sehun accompanied Jongin back to the dressing room. It's not like he could say that he'll stay outside to watch Jennie too since he has to retouch Jongin's makeup. 

Jongin unbuttons his shirt the moment they get in the dressing room while Sehun quickly averts his gaze. 

"Would you mind taking my clothes off the rack over there?" Jongin asks. 

"Isn't this Jongdae's job?" grumbles Sehun, he takes the shirt off the hanger first before handing it over to Jongin. 

"I told him to stay outside since you're here." 

Sehun turns to him and immediately regrets it since he's faced with a currently shirtless Jongin. "I'm… not your assistant." he says, flustered. 

Jongin smiles smugly. "It's not the first time you've seen me like this." 

"You remember a whole awful lot about the past." Sehun sneers. 

"Of course I do." After wearing the shirt, he changes his jeans. Sehun faces the door instead. 

"Why would you? Didn't that mean nothing to you?" Sehun softly asks. 

Jongin tucks his shirt and takes the jacket next. "And who told you that it was nothing?" he asks. 

Sehun didn't want to bring this up. This is why he's avoiding talks since earlier and yet he still can't stop himself. This whole time he thought he had moved on but being this close to Jongin again brings out the feelings that he has always kept. 

It feels as if he locked a part of himself in a room and threw away the key and now Jongin is knocking on that door. 

Sehun faces Jongin, face void of any emotion and vulnerability (at least that's what he hopes). "You just left." he sighs. 

"I had my reasons," Jongin says. 

"And I don't want an explanation. Not anymore." Sehun retorts. "Let's get back to work. Take a seat, I'll fix your hair." he changes the subject. 

Jongin huffs in disappointment before taking his seat. Sehun takes the comb and gel to fix Jongin's hair. 

"You're really not going to give me a chance to explain?" Jongin says after quite a while. 

Their eyes met on the mirror in front. "What for? It's been four years. Besides, I don't want that explanation anymore." 

"But you need it." Jongin says. "I know a part of you will always ask." 

Sehun rolls his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself, Kim Kai." 

Jongin suddenly grips his wrist. His gaze is three times more intimidating than usual with that eye makeup on. "You can't keep avoiding this forever." 

"Watch me." he holds his gaze. 

  
  


"Sehun, mister Jo--is something wrong?" They immediately part away when Sejeong suddenly enters the dressing room. She easily notices the tension lingering in the air and gives her supervisor a suspicious look. "Mister Jongdae asked me to tell you that Kai may eat first since Jennie's shoot might take longer." she says after clearing her throat. 

"I see. Thank you, I'll take my break then." Jongin agrees. "Go tell Jongdae that he can take a break too." 

"Will do," Sejeong nods. She gives Sehun one last worried look before leaving. 

Sehun takes a deep breath the moment she leaves. "Let's just stop this and focus on our jobs. I don't want Sejeong to get any ideas." he tells him. 

Jongin does not reply to that so Sehun leaves. Jongdae was about to enter right when he's about to exit the room. There was something that looked so knowing on the way the manager glanced at him then at Jongin. Sehun simply excuses himself. 

“Is everything okay?” Sejeong asks when he joins her again.

“Yes,” Sehun absentmindedly says.

“It’s the second time I felt like I was intruding on you and Kai.” Sejeong whispers. “Are you really sure about that?” 

Sehun exhales, she’s a smart girl so of course she’s bound to catch up on things. “Don’t tell anyone about that.” he tells her. 

The intern cocks an eyebrow at him. “What are you hiding?” 

“I’ll tell you once this is all over. But for now it’s none of your business.” he says with a frown. 

Sejeong looked hurt with that statement and he feels a bit bad for it but it’s not like he could just tell her. Besides, she’s a fan of Jongin’s and he doesn’t want to ruin that for her. Sejeong doesn’t speak to him after that and they focus on their work. 

Jongin gets called back on set eventually and they start the couple shoot with Jennie. Almost everyone in the room is watching them in awe as they work together. They pose together so naturally and they even exchange a few giggles and conversations every now and then. Perhaps that dating article that Sehun came across earlier might be true. After all, this would also be good publicity for their brand. 

After one last retouching of makeup and a couple more shots, they finally wrap up. “Alright, thank you for your hard work everyone. It’s all up to the editing and marketing team now. I’ll keep you all updated. I’ll have the teasers posted by tonight.” Baekhyun announces. 

Jongin and Jennie take their time in thanking everyone in the studio. Sehun hears a few comments about how well mannered the two were and how good they look together. 

“Hello Sehun, thank you for taking care of Jongin today.” Jongdae approaches him and gives him a handshake which he courteously accepts. 

“I’m just doing my job.” Sehun bows. 

“I’ll see you and Sejeong again for the campaign filming then?” Jongdae asks. 

Sejeong looks surprised with that. “Me? Would I still be allowed to go?” She talks to Sehun for the first time since their small argument. 

Sehun nods. “Of course, as long as I allow you to.” he responds. “I’m not sure if my boss would still assign me to him though, I feel like I messed up a lot of things today.” he scratches his head. Something about Jongdae’s stare feels a bit… observant? He has a hunch that Jongdae is catching up on things like Sejeong too or worse, he might already know.

“Sehun!” he hears Baekhyun’s voice. Sehun quickly scurries towards his boss.

“Yes sir?” he asks. He blinks in confusion when he sees Baekhyun talking with Jongin. What’s going on?” 

“I honestly had my doubts on you since this morning but Jongin said you did a great job.” Baekhyun grins. 

Sehun is in complete disbelief. “P-pardon?” 

“I was just asking him about you. You seemed out of it today and you know how important this is to me so I was a bit worried. Turns out there’s nothing for me to worry about since you did well.” Baekhyun ends with a laugh.

Sehun tries his best to not grimace. “R-really? It’s… nice of you to say that.” he chuckles awkwardly. 

“I look forward to working with you more often, Oh Sehun.” Jongin says with a smug grin. 

Jongin gives one last bow to Baekhyun before leaving to thank the rest of the staff. Once Jongin is out of earshot, Baekhyun fondly wraps an arm around his waist. “So you did pull the job off quite well huh?” he snickers. 

“I honestly thought I didn’t.” Sehun mumbles. He really didn’t. He was extremely unprofessional, both he and Jongin were.

“Maybe Jongin just likes working with you.” Baekhyun says. “Keep this up and I’ll give you a bonus after this.” he playfully winks. 

Sehun forces out a laugh. “Baekhyun please, we’re at work.” he whispers. He spots Jongin looking at him and Baekhyun from the end of the room but Sehun shakes that off. He breaks off of Baekhyun’s hold. 

“We have a team dinner tonight, I’m expecting to see you there.” Baekhyun says. 

“Can I pass? I really want to go home after this.” Sehun asks. 

Baekhyun arches an eyebrow at him. “And why? You always attended team dinners.” he asks.

Sehun inwardly groans. “Will everyone be there?” 

“Who are you avoiding?” Baekhyun narrows his eyes. 

“Sejeong,” he lies. 

His boss clicks his tongue. “Fine, but you can’t skip on the next team dinners right after this.” he says. “And whatever it is, fix your problems with your intern.”

“I will.” Sehun nods.

“Okay, you’re dismissed. Finish the rest of your work in the office.” Baekhyun says. 

Sehun is certain that he sees Jongin looking at him once again as he was on his way out but he pays no attention to it. 

  
  
  


The next time he meets Jongin, it is for the campaign shoot. He meets up with Sejeong at the filming location. It has been awkward ever since. She has been less friendly with him ever since he told her that “It’s none of her business” a few days ago. They only talk when it’s work related. 

She hands him his usual coffee when they meet up. “Filming starts in an hour and thirty minutes. They said Kim Kai is on his way so we should be ready in the dressing room now.” she reminds. 

“Thanks.” he says. “You’re free to go for now. Meet me in the dressing room in thirty minutes.” With that, they part ways in the meantime. 

Sehun went ahead to the dressing room to have everything prepared so that he can just immediately start working once Jongin arrives. They’ve received very overwhelming reactions once they announced that they’re working with Jennie and Kai. A lot of their fans are anticipating the release of their next collection. 

Baekhyun is very happy about it and so is the whole team but it is still too early to celebrate. After the campaign shoot, they have the launch and fashion show so there are still a lot of busy days ahead. Sehun is fortunate that he’s not super busy. In fact, his workload got lessened because he has to focus on just one model now and that is Jongin whereas he had to work on the makeup for other models too before. Sehun isn’t sure if that’s a good thing.

Someone eventually enters the room. “It hasn’t been thirty minutes, Sejeong.” he says.

“Sejeong? Were you expecting her instead?” 

Sehun swiftly turns in shock when he hears Jongin’s voice. “Y-you’re here early.” he stutters. 

“I always come early to my schedules.” He replies. 

“And where’s Jongdae?” 

“I told him to stay outside for a while. I thought you weren’t here yet so I wanted time alone in my dressing room first.” Jongin responds. 

“I can give you time, if that’s what you want.” Sehun says. 

“No need for that. You’re already here after all, stay.” he orders. 

Sehun bites his lip before sighing in defeat. “I can start working on your makeup,” he suggests. Jongin waves him off and says not yet. He takes his phone instead. He should just tell Sejeong to come quickly since he doesn’t want to spend time alone with Jongin again. 

He was halfway done with his text when Jongin suddenly snatches his phone away. “Hey,” he protests. “Give that back.” 

“Jongin is here. Come,” Jongin reads out the text. He lets out an amused chuckle. “Be careful Sehun, your intern might doubt you if you call me by my real name instead of Kai.” Sehun winces, what a careless mistake. “I erased it for you.” Jongin pockets his phone in his jeans. 

Sehun simply glares at him. “I’m not here to play games with you. We have to work.” 

“Is that your favorite line lately?” Jongin arches an eyebrow at him. 

”I’ve only used that on you.” Sehun scowls.

“Oh really?” Jongin takes a seat. “I think I heard you telling that to your boss the other day.” 

Sehun’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re mistaken.”

Jongin rolls his eyes. “You’ve always been a horrible liar.” he bites off a scoff. “So tell me, what’s going on between you and your boss?” 

Sehun’s jaw clenches while Jongin smirks. “You really are careless aren’t you? Does anyone from your team know? How about your intern, does she know?”

“We’re good friends.” Sehun knows there is no use lying but he doesn’t want to admit it, especially not to Jongin. 

“Bullshit.” Jongin singsongs. “I’m not dumb. I know that look that he was giving you the other day. It is an all too familiar look.” Sehun still doesn’t say a word. “Oh come on, say something. You know I could just ask your boss out of curiosity if you won’t tell.” 

“Don’t!” Sehun snaps and the look in Jongin’s eyes tells him that he already lost. “I… I slept with him before.” he admits. Jongin doesn’t look surprised since he’s expecting that answer anyways.

  
  


It was four months ago when Sehun slept with Baekhyun. It was a team dinner and they all had too much to drink. He was stopping over at a convenience store to buy coffee to sober up when Baekhyun stopped by the same store. He offered to buy Baekhyun some coffee and they stayed at the convenience store for who knows how long until they sobered up. They shared stories with each other, that was how they’ve grown closer. On the same night, Baekhyun took Sehun home and everything just felt like it was falling into the right moment so Sehun asked if he’d like to stay the night. Baekhyun says yes. 

It happened again a month ago right after another team dinner. They agreed that it won't be something they would frequently do since Baekhyun is still his boss. He's aware that Baekhyun has other… fuck buddies and Sehun also dated or slept with some other guys, they aren't exclusive at all. 

"Didn't think you'd be the type to have sex with your boss." Jongin muses. 

"I slept with him because we both needed a fuck. It's not what you're thinking." Sehun hisses. "It has nothing to do with my standing in his team." 

"Well I won't judge." Jongin shrugs. "It's still pretty nice since you're now assigned to me." 

"Me being assigned to you has nothing to do with Baekhyun and I.'' he glowers. 

"I suppose so. He looked ready to replace you the other day, I just happened to praise you and that's why he's so happy." 

"Well whatever I do with Baekhyun is none of your business." he scoffs. 

"Of course." Jongin raises his hands in defeat. "I just want to warn you to be careful about it. If word gets out, both of you could lose your jobs." 

"The same goes for us." Sehun counters. "If you keep talking to me like this, someone might find out and it will be bad for you and me." 

"That's a risk I wouldn't mind taking, it's thrilling." Jongin cackles.

"I doubt it." Sehun humorlessly laughs. "You were willing to leave me for your career so I doubt that you'd want to risk that now just for a little bit of thrill _._ " 

The way the smile was wiped off of Jongin's face is completely satisfying for Sehun. The other was about to make a reply when Jongdae entered the room. 

"Good morning, Jongdae." Sehun greets easily. 

"Good morning to you. I just need to brief Jongin about the schedule for today." Jongdae says. 

Sehun nods. "No problem, I'll be outside. Just call me if it's time to get his makeup done." The manager nods and Sehun takes that as his cue to leave. 

He was supposed to text Sejeong to come to the dressing room when he realizes that Jongin still has his phone. God, it's not like he can just march in and demand his phone back. 

Fortunately, he sees Sejeong at the end of the hallway. It looked like she's just on her way to the dressing room too. 

"I thought I saw Jongdae earlier so I decided to come here." she says. 

"He's inside with Jo--Kai." he corrects himself.

"You should have texted me, I would have come sooner." 

"I left my phone inside and Jongdae came so suddenly to talk to Kai so I had to leave." he explains. 

"Oh, I see." the intern nods. "That's fine." 

Sehun cannot stand the silence so he speaks up. "Look, I'm sorry for what I said the other day." he suddenly says. "I was not in my best mood and I ended up taking it out on you." 

Sejeong looks at him with genuine surprise. "I thought you got annoyed with me." she frowns. 

"Gosh, no… It's just that… there were things that I couldn't tell you." he lowers his voice. 

"Like you and mister Byun?" she sniffles. 

Sehun nearly chokes. He quickly grabs her by the arm and pulls her into a more secluded area which happened to be by the fire exit. "You know?" he gawks. 

"Well I saw him flirting with you last time so I just assumed." she mumbles. "Are you dating?" 

"No," Sehun denies. "That was more like a… two time thing." he waves off. "Besides, that's not what I'm talking about." 

"Oh… then what is it?" she tilts her head in confusion.

"It's your observation about Kai and I." Sehun trails.

"I didn't tell anyone, I’m not even sure about what I saw." she quickly says. “You don’t have to explain it all to me. You were right about it not being my business. It’s just that… I thought we’re friends but then again you are my supervisor so what right do I have to sulk?” she babbles.

“Hey, I like your bubbly personality and all. We are friends. I just didn’t want to shock you…? And I didn’t want to risk anything but these past days of you practically ignoring me just sucks and I just think it’s better to just tell you. I can trust you, right?” Sehun asks. 

“Aww, you like me?” She smiles.

“Sejeong, I’m gay.” he deadpans.

The intern ends up cackling. “No, I mean _like_ as a friend. I know you’re gay, it’s like… written all over you.” she gestures. 

That lightens his mood a bit. “Yes, I like you as a friend.” he laughs. “Anyway back to my question, I can trust you right?” 

“Of course you can. If you have any doubts, I can tell you a secret of mine in return.” she grins. 

“No need, I can just threaten to fail you for your internship.” Sehun laughs at the scandalized look on the intern’s face. 

“Just tell me, what’s up with you and Kai? Did you fight with him before or something?” she changes the subject. 

Sehun heaves a sigh. “He’s my ex.” 

The silence that followed is deafening. Sejeong’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened in shock. “He’s… what?” she gasps. 

“It’s exactly as you heard. Ex, past lover, someone from the past… whatever you call it.” he enumerates. 

“Oh… oh my god… Kim Kai? He’s…” she whispers. “Oh… mama… I can’t believe it.” 

“Does it really sound that impossible that someone would be willing to date me?” Sehun tries to lighten up the mood. 

“No, it’s just… it’s so cool. He’s one of the biggest stars ever and you used to date him? And now you’re working for him?” she says in amazement. 

“I am working with him, not for him.” he corrects. “Please try to act normal? I trust you on this. I won’t let you accompany me again if Jongin ever finds out that you know.” he huffs.

“You still call him by his real name.” Sejeong grins cheekily. 

“Shut it, we’re not on good terms at the moment. I just really want to get this job done.” Sehun interrupts.

“You broke up on bad terms, didn’t you?” she frowns. 

“He dumped me.” Sehun rolls his eyes. “But enough about that, we should go back to the dressing room now. Please act normal, I will personally kick you out if you attempt something funny.” 

Sejeong looks at him in disbelief when he casually brought up that he got dumped but he gives her a warning look to not tackle the topic any further. They go back to the dressing room and it just so happens that Jongdae just finished talking to Jongin. 

“Come in, you may start working Sehun. I need to talk and make a few calls.” Jongdae excuses himself. 

Sehun notices how tense Sejeong was when she enters the dressing room with him but he knows she’s trying her best to act natural. “Jongdae looks busy.” Sehun mentions to ease the tension. 

“He’s in talks with my agency, I’m going to start working on my second album soon.” Jongin replies. 

“Really?! When? I can’t wait!” Sejeong nearly jumps in excitement. “I bought ten copies of your first.” 

Jongin smiles bashfully. “Thank you, I really appreciate it.” he says. “What about you?” He then looks at Sehun.

“I said I don’t keep up with celebrities.” Sehun shrugs. 

“So you’re telling me that you haven’t listened to a single song of mine?” Jongin asks. Sehun doesn’t even know why Jongin is asking these questions with Sejeong around. He did not sound worried about having others finding out about their past but it’s not the same for Sehun. Of course Sejeong happens to be an exception now but Jongin cannot keep acting like this with him especially if they are around other people. 

When Sehun doesn’t respond, Jongin cocks an eyebrow in Sejeong’s direction. The intern straightens up. “The only music he knows are the songs from the Disney movies he enjoys watching. He really does not keep up with any artists at all.” she says. “It’s nothing personal, he really lives like that.”

“Hey,” Sehun shoots her an offended look.

"You weren't like that before." Jongin says, voice lowering so that only Sehun could hear it. 

"People change, interests change." Sehun hums. "I should get you ready now." he smoothly changes the topic. 

"Oh well, you can't please everyone." Jongin says as he sits properly on his chair. 

"Anyway talking about Kai's album suddenly made me want to listen. Is it alright if I wear my earphones for a while or is there anything I should do?" Sejeong asks. 

"Do whatever you want." Sehun replies. 

"I'll be listening at full volume." Sejeong adds and Sehun gives her a weak glare because she's obviously doing that so he and Jongin can talk without worrying about her listening. 

"I'll throw a brush at you if I need help." Sehun grumbles. 

Sejeong fakes a salute before plugging her earphones on and settling herself comfortably on the couch. Jongin actually looks to make sure. 

"At least your intern has taste." he comments.

"I do have bad taste." Sehun confirms. "You can confirm it through the jerks I dated." he retorts. 

Jongin didn't look fazed by that, instead he asks, "How many have you dated after me?"

Sehun takes the primer and sponge to start. "You don't have to know." 

"Oh come on, I won't be called on set for an hour so don't bore me to death by ignoring me." Jongin complains. 

"Then why don't you do the talking?" Sehun scoffs. "I haven't done much except work so whether I talk or not, you'd still be bored to death." 

"Well in case you are curious, I haven't been in any serious relationships since I debuted." Jongin said as Sehun starts to apply the primer. 

"That's not what the articles say." Sehun mutters. 

"So you did your research huh?" 

Sehun purses his lips. "I only did it three days ago. I was searching for your pictures because I had to see what makeup you usually get." he explains flippantly. "Then I just came across an article about you and Jennie…" 

"Ah, that." he snickers. "We went on a couple dates, that's all. It's pretty much like your relationship with your boss, except that it's not a secret." 

"Stop bringing up Baekhyun, it's not going to happen again." Sehun groans. 

"Fine, I'll never bring up the topic about you fucking your boss again." Jongin teases. 

"Fuck off, whoever I sleep with is none of your business." Sehun glares. "And I absolutely do not want you to judge me for that." 

Besides, the only reason he decided to date and sleep around was to move on from Jongin. Now it's just a really bad habit. Jongin simply looks at him, he actually looks impressed much to Sehun's confusion. "Wow," Jongin smirks. "I actually find this…" he gestures towards Sehun. "Much more attractive." 

Sehun narrows his eyes at the other. "If you think that will flatter me, you're completely wrong." he hisses. "Now hold still because I have a job to do." 

The next minutes consist of Jongin starting up conversations and Sehun shutting him down. Sejeong eventually removes her earphones so Jongin stopped asking him questions by then. Jongdae also returned to the dressing room so he and Jongin were talking as Sehun finished putting his makeup on. 

Filming went by smoothly. Jennie and Jongin really worked well together and they even pulled off some scenes on their first shoot. The two had to stay together even during their breaks so Jongin didn't really talk to him much when he had to retouch his makeup. 

It was already around eight in the evening when they wrapped up and Baekhyun invited everyone out for a celebratory dinner. Jennie and Jongin were coming too. 

"Are you coming?" Sejeong asks him. 

"It's best if I don't go." Sehun replies.

"You should inform them, they were looking for you last time." 

"Yeah, yeah. I'll go send a message in the group chat." He stops reaching for his pocket and curses. 

"Is something wrong?" Sejeong questions. 

"Jongin took my phone this morning." Sehun whispers. "He hasn't returned it since." 

"Why would your ex take your phone?" the intern asks. 

"He's just being an asshole." Sehun snarls. Sejeong frowns. "I know you are offended as a fan, but the guy is a dick." he groans. 

"Whatever," she brushes it off. "You should take your phone back. He's probably in his dressing room." 

"Probably, but what about Jongdae?" Sehun looks at Jongin's manager. Jongdae is currently talking with Baekhyun. 

"I'll keep an eye on him. I'll distract him to give you time if he ever comes to the dressing room." she offers. 

"Great, thanks." Sehun nods before scurrying his way to the dressing room. 

  
  


He knocks on the door first. "Who is it?" he hears Jongin's voice. 

"It's me." Sehun replies. 

It only takes a few seconds before Jongin opens the door himself. "Oh God, please get dressed." Sehun averts his gaze.

Jongin lets out a huff before pulling him in and closing the door again. He only had his jeans on and they weren't even zipped yet. "What can I help you with?" Jongin asks as he buttons up his jeans. 

"I need my phone back," Sehun grits. "I have to go home." 

"You're not coming to the dinner?" 

Sehun shakes his head. "I'm not really in the mood to socialize. Now, my phone please." he holds out his hand. 

“What if I don’t return it just yet?” Jongin asks.

“I might miss important calls. Don't be a dick." he harrumphs. 

"Oh don't worry, I keep checking your notifications and so far there are none yet. I think there were a few messages from your dating app though. I think some guy named Johnny is asking when he can meet you again." Jongin adds. 

Sehun lets out an audible groan. "Give me back my phone so I can turn him down." he whines. "God, what part of one night stands do these men don't understand?" he grumbles. 

"How long have you been hooking up with people?" Jongin asks. 

"Three years." Sehun replies. It would have been four if he didn't spend the first year sulking over Jongin. 

"Are you sure it's safe? You know one of these days you might end up going with the wrong person." Jongin asks. 

"Why do you care? It's not like I do it every now and then. Sometimes things just get too stressful and tight and I need to let loose… no pun intended." 

"Are you stressed out right now?" Jongin asks with a snort. 

Sehun eyes him, he doesn't know what the other even wants to imply. "If you keep this up, then yes." he answers.

"Come to the dinner and have a good time then." Jongin says as he puts a shirt on. "I won't be there for long since I have a schedule tomorrow morning." 

"Will you give me my phone back if I say yes?" Sehun crosses his arms. 

Jongin suddenly steps forward, right into his personal space so Sehun instinctively steps back. Jongin swiftly hooks an arm around him and he feels the other's hand snaking its way to his backside. 

"Hey!" he gasps. 

"Relax," Jongin coos. "I'm returning your phone." he smoothly says as he stuffs Sehun's phone in his back pocket. 

Sehun's face flushes as he shoves the artist away. "Don't touch me next time." he hisses. 

Jongin takes his jacket from the rack, he's all done with changing his clothes. "See you at dinner." he winks. 

He calms himself down once Jongin is gone. He distracts himself by looking around the dressing room and cleaning up whatever he sees out of place. Soon enough, Sejeong calls to inform him that everyone is on their way to the restaurant that was booked for the night. 

Sehun knows it's going to be a long night. 

  
  
  
  


"May this campaign and the launch be a success!" Baekhyun starts the toast. Everyone repeats his words and drinks a shot. So far the dinner has been fine. Since Jennie and Jongin are with them, the attention remains on them. Sehun was able to lay low the whole time by eating meat every now and then and pouring soju and beer for himself. 

"You've been drinking a lot." Sejeong comments as she takes a piece of meat from Sehun's plate. 

"And you've been stealing my food." Sehun retorts. 

"You look like you aren't interested in eating, it won't taste good if it gets cold." she tells him. 

Sehun shrugs. He pushes his plate towards her but takes her soju bottle in return. "Fair trade." he says. 

"I hope you don’t end up regretting this because it’s only a Thursday.” Sejeong reprimands. 

Sehun snorts. “I know my limits, don’t worry.” His eyes suddenly met Jongin’s at the other end of the table. One of his co-workers was sharing a possibly funny story, Sehun doesn’t know since he isn’t listening, Jongin looks like he’s listening but he kept his gaze on Sehun.

Sehun plays it cool by pretending he doesn’t notice while drinking. He gave up on pouring on his glass and drank straight from the bottle instead. He sneaks a glance and sees that Jongin is still looking at him. _“What’s his deal?”_ He scoffs before taking another swig of his bottle. 

  
  


It was only about two and half more bottles later when Sehun decided to finally stop. He might have gone overboard a bit and now he feels woozy. “I need to go outside.” he groans. 

“I think you need to go home.” Sejeong says.

“Yeah,” he agrees. Everyone looks busy anyways, he could sneak out without anyone questioning him. He stands up and easily leaves. Before going to the bus stop, he makes a stop at the convenience store right beside the restaurant to buy a cigarette. 

Whenever he has no hookups, he smokes to destress instead. He’s not proud of it, it’s a habit he hates himself for but he still can’t grow out of it yet. Smoking helps him sober up too. He was only halfway through his first stick when Jongin and Jongdae suddenly exited the restaurant. 

Jongin looks at him in surprise first before narrowing his eyes at the cigarette stick on his fingers. “I thought you went home.” he says. 

Sehun doesn’t say anything. Jongdae looks at both of them before whispering something to Jongin and leaving. 

Sehun looks at Jongin in bewilderment. “You’re not leaving with him?” 

“His wife called him so he has to come home now.” Jongin says. “Since when do you smoke?” he suddenly asks. 

“A while.” Sehun drawls. “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” 

Jongin shrugs his shoulders as if to agree. “Aren’t you going home yet?” he asks. 

Sehun takes one last hit of the cigarette before disposing of it. “I am, I’m taking a cab.” 

A car suddenly stops in front of them. The driver steps out and nods at Jongin in acknowledgement. “Sir,” he bows. It must be his driver. 

“I’ll drive home alone, if that’s alright.” Jongin says. 

“Understood, have a good night. Please text Jongdae once you get home.” Jongin nods before his driver leaves. 

“I’ll give you a ride.” Jongin offers.

Sehun instantly scowls at him. “No thanks, I don’t need it.” he slurs. 

Jongin gives him a thoughtful look. “I’m pretty sure you need it.”

Sehun abruptly shakes his head. “Just go home, I don’t need you.” 

“I insist.” Jongin argues. “Why are you so afraid to get in the same car as me?” 

“Who says I’m afraid? I just don’t need it.” 

Jongin smiles cockily at him. “Do I make you nervous?” 

Sehun glares at the other. Jongin is riling him up on purpose and normally, he would ignore this like he did three days ago or this morning but there’s alcohol in his system now so there goes his rational thinking.

“You give yourself too much credit.” he stomps his way in front of the car. “Let’s go before someone sees you then. It’ll be troublesome.” 

Jongin gives him a pleased smile before entering the car. "So, where to?" he asks as he fastens his seatbelt and adjusts the rearview mirror. 

"My apartment." Sehun replies. 

Jongin snorts. "Duh, I am asking for the address. Are you that wasted?" 

Sehun flushes in embarrassment. He doesn't make a retort and types out his address on Jongin's GPS instead. "Guess you automatically assumed I knew where to go since I used to drive you home huh?" Jongin asks. 

"Stop assuming things." Sehun scoffs as he looks out the window.

  
  


"So… I noticed that you're pretty close with your intern." Jongin starts after a few moments of silence. 

"If you're assuming what I think you're assuming, forget it. You know very well that I am not interested in dating women, no matter how pretty or nice they are." Sehun cuts him off. 

"That's not what I was going to ask." Jongin says. "It's just an observation of mine. You two seem close so I was wondering if she knows about us." Sehun's silence is already enough as an answer for Jongin. "So she does know." 

"She sort of caught up on things on her own so I told her. Don't worry, she promised to keep it a secret. She is your fan, she'd never do anything to harm your image." Sehun explains.

"Well to be fair, Jongdae knows about us as well." says Jongin. 

Sehun isn't surprised by that piece of information. After all, Jongdae did look like he knew what was going on. 

Sehun's phone suddenly starts ringing so he checks. He locks the screen upon seeing the caller hoping that Jongin did not notice it. 

"I thought it's not going to happen again? Why is your boss still calling you?" Jongin asks. He saw. 

Sehun's phone rings again so he heaves a sigh and answers it. "Sir, what is it?" 

Jongin remained silent as the call went on. "Sorry, I drank too much so I went ahead. I told Sejeong. I'm okay. I should go. Bye." 

"He was looking for you." Jongin points out. 

"He's just worried." 

"Learn to take a hint. You know exactly what he wants." Jongin scoffs. 

"I'm not in the mood to risk my job today." Sehun yawns. "If things get hectic, I might say yes as long as he keeps this up." 

"Hook ups, smoking and drinking excessively, are you sure you're not being reckless with this?" Jongin asks.

"What is it to you? I'm fine with what I do." Sehun simpers. 

"I just think it's… not you." Jongin hesitantly says. 

Sehun glowers at the other. "Four years is a long time, you don't know me as much as you think you do." 

Jongin makes a turn at an empty street, they are almost at Sehun's place. "It doesn't take a genius to see how self-destructive you've gotten." 

"Stop the car." Sehun says. Jongin does not listen. "I said stop the damn car!" Jongin suddenly hits the brakes.

"What is your problem?" Jongin sneers. 

"I will not deal with you anymore tonight. Stop probing in what I do with my life now. You didn't care back then so you shouldn't care now." Sehun angrily unclasps the seatbelt. He was about to open the door to leave when Jongin suddenly grabs him by the front of his shirt to pull him back. 

"Who said I didn't care? I care. I always have!" Jongin hisses.

Sehun looks at him with the same intensity that Jongin is looking at him. "It doesn't change the fact that you left." 

"You won't even give me a chance to explain." Jongin retorts. 

"An explanation won't change a thing." Sehun spat. "You can't just say these things and act like this after four years. I spent so much time forgetting you, resenting you, replacing you. I hate you so--" 

Sehun doesn’t get to finish his rambling when Jongin suddenly pulls him close, so close that their lips were nearly touching. Sehun feels his breathing hitch. “How I wish that I could shut you up right now.” Jongin whispers, his breath ghosting over Sehun’s lips.

The makeup artist gulps, but he meets Jongin’s gaze to give him a challenging stare. “You’re welcome to try.” 

That was all Jongin needed before crashing their lips together. Sehun’s eyes were wide open in surprise, a part of him wanted to pull away but his pride prevented him from doing so, he didn’t expect that Jongin would actually do it. He lightly pushes Jongin to catch his breath, the other looks at him with a smug look on his face just to purposely rile him up. Sehun scoffs before pulling Jongin back. The second time Jongin's lips touches his, he finds himself closing his eyes and kissing back. 

It wasn't romantic. It was the type of kisses he shares with some of his hookups. It's fervid, needy and almost animalistic. Jongin cups a hand against his jaw to make him part his lips before easily shoving his tongue in Sehun's mouth. Sehun probably tastes like alcohol and cigarettes but Jongin didn't seem to care despite disapproving Sehun of those habits earlier. The artist swallows up his moans as he continuously licks into Sehun's mouth. It takes a few minutes until they part to catch their breaths. Sehun's pupils were dilated when Jongin looked at him again but it didn't take long until that dazed expression morphed into a furious one. 

"Fuck you." Sehun curses before stepping out of the car and slamming the door shut. 

Jongin watches Sehun's figure as he hurriedly walks down the street. He could barely walk a straight line and he also notices how the other would slap himself or pull his hair in frustration as he struts into his apartment. 

Jongin swipes his tongue against his lips before smirking to himself. He can't wait for his next schedule with the makeup artist. 

  
  
  
  


Sehun shows up to work at 7AM the following morning with a bad hangover, he even wore sunglasses since his eyes were bloodshot and everything just seemed too bright for him.

“Tough night?” Sejeong asks once he plops down on his desk. 

“Tough morning.” Sehun groans. “I knew I was gonna regret everything this morning but I didn’t know that I’d regret it this badly.” 

Sejeong disappears for a moment, she returns a few minutes later to give him the coffee she made in the pantry. “Thanks.” he mutters before taking a sip.

Sejeong moves her chair closer to Sehun’s. “So, what happened? Did you go home? Kai went out not long after you left.” 

Sehun turns to her and she quickly waves her hands in defense. “I’m sorry if you think I’m intruding, you don’t have to answer.”

“It’s fine,” Sehun sighs. “It’s better to have someone to talk to than risk my sanity.” 

Sejeong grimaces. “Was it as bad as it seems?” 

“He gave me a ride home.” Sehun whispers. 

“Okay?” Sejeong blinks in confusion. “That’s definitely not something I expected an ex boyfriend would do.” 

“It gets worse.” Sehun adds. The intern scoots closer, looking intrigued. “I can really trust you right? Please promise me that you’re not one of those fans that will suddenly go on Twitter to spread this?” 

Sejeong chortles. “First of all, I would never do something that will harm Kai’s image. Second, this first hand information I’m getting from you is worth way more than Twitter clout.” 

Sehun wanted to ask her what Twitter clout means but that’s irrelevant to the conversation. “Okay fine then.” he sighs. “He… kissed me.” he says softly. 

Sejeong actually takes a few moments to process it all. She covers her mouth and lightly stomps her feet against the carpeted floor. Sehun rolls his eyes at her. “It’s not a good thing, stop looking so happy.” 

The intern’s face turns red in embarrassment--or excitement, Sehun can’t really tell. “Not a good thing? But he offered you a ride home then kissed you? Isn’t that sweet?” she was basically whisper-yelling. 

“It wasn’t sweet.” Sehun bites off a scoff. “He was annoying me on purpose and I… taunted him so he kissed. The worst part is that I kissed him too.” 

“Oh my god, it wasn’t just one kiss?” she interjects. 

“The point is,” Sehun sternly says. “I might have told him one harsh and horrible ‘fuck you’ before leaving his car. Now that I think of it, I should have slapped him.”

“Why would you do that? That’s Kim frickin’ Kai?” she whines. 

“You said you won’t be biased.” the elder deadpans. 

“My apologies,” Sejeong coughs. “But with Kai making these moves on you, don’t you think he just wants to make things right?”

“He doesn’t have to do that.” Sehun insists. “I... don’t want him to do that.”

“It’s not just about you, it’s about him too. You might have been heartbroken and resentful all these years but what if he’s the same too?” That statement renders him speechless. Of course that has crossed his mind a lot of times but for it to come from someone he trusts just hits differently. 

"I hope you two fix it someday." Sejeong places a comforting hand on his shoulder.

  
  
  
  
  
  


It has been a week ever since the kiss and Sehun dreads to meet Jongin once again. The fashion launch is in three days and today happens to be the day for fitting. 

Sehun jokingly tells Baekhyun that he doesn't need to show up because it's all just for fitting but his boss insisted for him to tag along. 

So now here they are at the menswear styling department. Sehun tries to not look bored as Jongin tries out different outfits. Jongin will be wearing the outfit for the red carpet event of their launch where several celebrities will be present too so it's important for him to wear the best outfit possible. Baekhyun is personally picking out the outfits and accessories to match for him. Sejeong wasn't allowed to accompany him today so he's just boredly waiting for everything to be over. 

"You look a bit tired, is something wrong?" Sehun flinches when Jongdae starts talking to him. 

"Just a bit busy with work, I guess." Sehun shrugs.

"You seem a bit distracted though. Jongin's been the same since last week." Jongdae lowers his voice. "What happened during the night I left you two?" 

Sehun looks down as his fists clenched against his lap. "Nothing worth mentioning." A big lie. "We just had a misunderstanding." 

"You two need to be careful." Jongdae reprimands. "Especially since Jongin's agency is currently capitalizing on his dating rumors with Jennie." 

"Believe me, I'm trying to stay away from him as much as possible." Sehun honestly says. "I'm not even supposed to be here but orders are orders." 

"I'm not saying that you should stay away from him, Sehun. That won't fix anything either. Just be careful and handle your situation like responsible, professional adults." the manager calmly replies. 

"Sehun," Baekhyun's voice suddenly interrupts their serious talk. 

Sehun perks up. "Yes, sir?" he asks. 

"You haven't voted for your favorite outfit yet, which do you think he should wear? The others have chosen already." the creative director asks. 

Sehun feels like a deer in the headlights, he was barely paying any attention so he really has no idea. "I like what he's wearing now." he says instead. 

Baekhyun's brows furrow as he strokes his chin. "Hmm, we were picking in between the second and third. How about you Jongin? What's your opinion?" 

"I like this one." Jongin looks at himself in the mirror. "I think it's attention grabbing and it's comfortable too." 

"I see," Baekhyun nods. "Well, your opinion is what matters most here after all. Sehun has quite an eye, doesn't he?" 

Jongin smirks in Sehun's direction. "He does." 

"I guess we'll make a few adjustments on the pants so that it shows off your legs well. You may change back to your old clothes." Baekhyun voices out an order for his secretary to take notes afterwards. 

Sehun watches the scene in complete bewilderment. Does Jongin even like the outfit or did he pick it because Sehun just randomly chose it? Based on the look that Jongin gave him, it's probably the former. 

"What's his deal?" Sehun mutters inaudibly. 

  
  


Baekhyun allows him to leave after that. Sehun was on his way back to his department when he heard Jongdae calling his name. "Sehun, Kai is requesting your presence in the dressing room." 

Sehun's brows furrowed. "Why? I have no business with him today." 

"He has a few questions to ask you in regards to the launch." Jongdae shrugs. "Or at least, that's what he said." he adds knowingly. "Anyway, I'll be in a call with some producers so you should go now." 

Jongdae doesn't give him any time to explain so he groans in frustration before entering the studio. It was nearly empty today aside from a few staff members. He heads to the dressing room that he and Jongin used before. 

He opens the door and he sees Jongin inside settled on the couch. "What do you want?" Sehun asks as he closes the door and locks it. 

Jongin thoughtfully looks at the door before settling his eyes on Sehun. "We should talk about last week." Jongin starts.

"No, we don't. Last week was a mistake." Sehun shuts him down. 

"Really? Because I do remember you kissing me back and enjoying it." Jongin leers. 

"Yeah, and I remember cursing in your face too so don't think about it too much." Sehun retorts.

"I hope you are taking your own advice because it looks like you have been thinking about it a lot." Jongin fires back, he happens to be completely correct too. 

"Sehun," Jongin calls him after a few moments of complete silence. "We really need to talk about it. Not just the kiss, but everything that has happened." 

"I said I don't want to." Sehun interjects. "I don't want to jeopardize our careers, so it's better off like this." 

Jongin looks at him in complete disbelief. There is a look of frustration in his eyes before he relaxes and his expression returns to being unreadable. He stands up and walks over to where Sehun is standing. 

Sehun steps away until his back is pressed against the dressing table. Jongin steps closer and places his palms against the table, trapping Sehun's body in between. 

"You slept with your boss twice yet you give me excuses about jeopardizing careers." Jongin drawls. Sehun purses his lips, he doesn't miss the way that Jongin looked at them. "What are you so afraid of, Sehun? Why do you refuse to talk things out?" 

"I'm not afraid." Sehun denies. "I just don't think we have to talk." 

"That's not just your call to make." Jongin tells him. 

"We're going around in circles." Sehun says tiredly. "You are a busy man Jongin, stop wasting your time on me." 

"Do you really think that _you_ are a waste of time for me?" Jongin snickers. "I can give you several reasons on why that's wrong but you're not one for explanations aren't you?" he grins smugly. 

"Yeah…" Sehun says, sounding distracted as Jongin presses his body closer. "We're better off not talking." 

"For now," Jongin corrects. 

"That's what you think." Sehun says flippantly, his gaze is stuck on Jongin's lips. They were too close. 

"You always have an answer to everything." Jongin comments. 

"I hate you." 

Another moment of silence. There was hesitation yet their eyes can't lie. Jongin makes the first move, he leans forward but he stops midway as if to challenge Sehun. It worked because there was frustration written all over Sehun’s eyes but he met Jongin’s lips halfway in a not so gentle way. 

Sehun’s hands automatically grab onto Jongin’s hair while Jongin places one hand on Sehun’s waist. Jongin hoists him up to sit on the table and settles himself in between his legs as he continues to kiss the living daylights out of him. Sehun pulls a little harder on Jongin’s hair while the latter bites his lip. Sehun opens up for him and Jongin deepens the kiss, sensually flicking his tongue against Sehun’s. 

Sehun eventually breaks the kiss to catch his breath. He wipes his lips with the back of his hand while Jongin licks his lips. He feels hot all over from where Jongin is pressed against him, he’s sure that he looks flustered since he feels his face heating up. 

He breaks up from his reverie and attempts to push Jongin away. “I have to go.” he says. Jongin does not budge so Sehun lightly shoves him this time. “Hey,” 

Jongin’s eyes glimmered before he stepped back. “You really do hate me, don’t you?” His tone was sarcastic. 

Sehun glares at him as he hops off the table. He faces the mirror to make sure he looks presentable. “This doesn’t change a thing.” he reminds him. 

“If you keep this up, the next time you tell me that you hate me will be in bed.” Jongin snickers. 

Sehun laughs . “In your dreams. “ He flips him off before leaving the dressing room in a rush. 

Fortunately, none of his co-workers notice anything strange with him… everyone except Sejeong. “You smell different.” She says. 

Sehun tiredly rubs the back of his neck. “What do you even mean by that? Do I smell bad?” he asks. 

“No, you smell kind of… musky? It’s like someone else’s perfume rubbed off on you.” She arches an eyebrow at him. 

“I don’t want to talk about it, detective.” Sehun grumbles. 

Sejeong giggles. “Fine then, but I do hope that you know what you’re doing.” Sehun hopes he does. 

  
  
  
  
  


At long last the awaited day has arrived. Sehun, together with Sejeong, meets up with Jongin and Jongdae at the studio. Since Jongdae and Sejeong were both in the room, Jongin simply exchanged greetings with him before he got to work. 

"You look excited." Jongdae tells the intern. 

"An event like this is a once in a lifetime experience. I'm really so lucky that Sehun is my superior." Sejeong grins. 

"I noticed that you don't address him as sir like other interns do to their superiors." Jongin comments. 

"Well he said I can call him whatever I'm comfortable with. I asked if it's alright to be casual and he said it's fine." Sejeong explains. 

"We're friends." Sehun clarifies as he gestures towards Jongin's lips. 

Jongin had his back turned from Jongdae and Sejeong so he puckers his lips at the makeup artist. Sehun tries to not look embarrassed. "I'm applying the lip liner." he states out the obvious. He tries his best to not look distracted as he works on Jongin's lips. They really were plush and soft yet so sinful too. A few days ago, these lips were so close to devouring him. Sehun shakes the thought away. He saw the amount of fans that are waiting for Jongin and Jennie outside, he needs to pull himself together and not get distracted. 

"All done, you may change your clothes now." Sehun says once he has finished. Sejeong excuses herself so Jongin can change while Sehun puts away the makeup. 

Jongin looks stunning in his outfit. The outfit really shows off his broad shoulders and long legs. Sehun reaches over to fix his hair that got a bit tousled when he wore his shirt. Jongin's eyes met him and he quickly flinched away like he just got burned. "Sejeong and I will go ahead. I heard some celebrities have started to arrive, we'll see you there." Sehun rasps. 

"Thank you Sehun, he looks great." Jongdae smiles at him. 

Sehun bows one more time before leaving the dressing room. He spots Sejeong waiting outside, they took a cab to go to the venue of the launch together. It was for streetwear so the venue they rented out is decorated to look like a club. The stage was all set up, the lighting was perfect and the music really fits the whole theme. 

"Kyungsoo's team did an amazing job." Sehun says as they enter through the alternative entrance. The guest entrance was pretty crowded since a lot of fans have camped out to wait for their favorite celebrities that are attending. Most of them were fans of Jongin and Jennie. 

Sehun doesn't need to look outside to figure out who arrived when they heard screams. "Wow, if I wasn't an intern I would have been one of those girls shouting outside right now." Sejeong giggles. 

"Any fan would kill to be in your place right now." Sehun snorts. 

"I owe it to you." She grins. "The other interns aren't as privileged as I am." 

"You're allowed to take pictures with the celebrities during the after party. Take the chance." Sehun encourages. 

"Oh I most certainly will." Sejeong squeals in delight. 

Jongin enters the venue after a few moments. Jennie arrived just seconds after he came so the media took pictures of them together. Baekhyun eventually joins them since they're his muses after all. The two were given front row seats for the fashion show. Sehun and Sejeong were backstage to help with the models. The whole event was like a blur to Sehun. Soon enough the fashion show has ended and Baekhyun takes the final walk and bows on the runway. 

The after party will take place at their office since it's more private and secured, they have to make sure that no fans can get in for the sake of their celebrity guests. Baekhyun, Jongin and Jennie stayed for a bit to do more interviews and picture taking while the rest were allowed to proceed to the office. 

The studio has always been a place for hectic schedules for Sehun so to see it decorated and arranged for their party is a nice change. It looks like a club. It matches the venue too. The lights and music weren't on earlier when he was doing Jongin's makeup so he's genuinely surprised to see that they would go all out with the setup here as well. A waiter serves a glass of champagne to him and Sejeong. They both make a toast before drinking. "We all have a day off tomorrow so I'm going to get wasted today." she cheers. 

"Don't go overboard unless you want to end up like me." Sehun jokingly warns. 

"Well unlike you, I have no dangerously hot ex boyfriend to worry about." She teases. 

  
  


Baekhyun, Jennie and Jongin arrived together a few minutes later. The creative director gives a quick thank you speech first then the CEO of their company was there as well. Soon enough everyone joins in on the partying. 

Sejeong disappears for a few minutes and later on returns with two new pictures on her phone. One with Jongin and one with Jennie. "This is the best day ever!" She shouts before grabbing another glass of champagne from a waiter passing by. 

"I'm happy for you kid." Sehun says in amusement. 

"Ah, there he is! Sehun!" he turns around when he hears Baekhyun's voice. 

Baekhyun was currently with the other department heads but he excuses himself to talk to Sehun instead. 

"Sir, is there anything you need?" Sehun asks.

"Kai's outfit is a huge hit! The hashtag for his appearance in the event reached a million tweets already. His fans really loved the outfit. I might consider doing preorders for the jacket he's wearing. The sales will definitely skyrocket." Baekhyun enthusiastically says. "You were the only one that chose that outfit." 

"I don't deserve the credit, I'm sure the results would have been the same if he wore something else." Sehun says. 

"I doubt that." Baekhyun disagrees. "Kai prefers the outfit that you picked too so if we picked something else, he might not look comfortable in it. Give yourself a bit of credit." Baekhyun subtly places his arm around Sehun's waist once again. 

"In fact," he lowers his voice. "I think I should give you a bonus for this, don't you think? I'm feeling generous, what reward do you want?" 

Sehun's eyes widen and his jaw drops in shock. "Seriously, there is no need. I refuse. Kai pulled the outfit well, he deserves the credit. Actually, you deserve the credit since you designed it." Sehun blabbers. 

His boss gives his waist a gentle squeeze. "I'll keep your bonus simple then. Just pick your favorite from all the runway looks. I'll give you the full look. It's on me and don't say no." 

Sehun sighs in defeat. "I'll think about it." 

Baekhyun smiles in satisfaction. "I'll be waiting." With that, the creative director returns to conversing with the other department heads. 

Sehun uses the time to catch up with the other members of his team but he felt a bit lost since almost everyone's topic was about Jennie and Jongin. The lights dimmed even more and the music got louder a few seconds later. The real party has officially begun. People started dancing, more of them were starting to get more drunk. Heck, even Baekhyun sounded a little drunk earlier. 

He searches for Sejeong and she sees her talking to one of the interns from the womenswear department. He decided to not interfere since it looks like she is having a good time. Instead, Sehun sneaks out of the open space of the studio and inside the dressing room. He heaves a sigh when he gets a few moments of peace inside the room. He could still hear the music outside but it's muffled and there were no blinding lights to hurt his eyes. He plops down on the couch to rest his eyes for a bit. He has only been enjoying the silence momentarily when someone enters the room. 

Jongin freezes upon seeing him in the room while Sehun mirrors the same bewildered expression. "What are you doing here?" Sehun asks. 

"It's my dressing room, although temporary." Jongin shrugs. 

"I know genius." Sehun rolls his eyes. "What I mean is, why did you go here all of a sudden?" 

Jongin locks the door and settles himself on the other end of the couch. "I wanted a break. I feel drained so I had to escape everyone out there." 

"They'll know you are gone." Sehun points out. 

"Nah, everyone is too drunk and hyped at the party to notice it at this point." Jongin assures. 

"They better be." Sehun says gruffly. 

"By the way, I saw Baekhyun talking to you again." Jongin brings up.

"And so?" 

"Was he offering you something good?" 

Sehun slowly looks at him in suspicion. "What do you mean by that?" 

Jongin cackles. "I told him about how much I love the outfit and that I wouldn't have gone with it if you didn't point it out." 

Sehun's fists clench. Did he really say that? No wonder Baekhyun was talking to him like that earlier. "Why would you say that? I picked that outfit because I was not paying attention and it's the only one I saw." 

"I wanted to annoy you that day so I went with whatever you picked." Jongin shrugs. "I told Baekhyun that you're good at your job so I'm sure he'd offer you a bonus like that time too." he ends with a laugh.

"I don't need you to do that. You aren't doing me a favor here." he scowls. 

"Oh come on, you should be thankful. Who knows, you might even get a promotion at this rate?" Jongin snickers. 

"My boss is not going to do that all because of your feedback." Sehun tells him. 

"Maybe not, but your boss is smitten with you so he might do it in the future. My praises aren't the main factor here though, it's all because you let him fuck you that's why he's willing to give you all these privileges." 

There was something so condescending about his tone and it took all of Sehun's self-control to not punch him then and there. “Shut up.”

“Did I strike a nerve?” 

“I don’t know why you are so obsessed about me sleeping with my boss or anyone else for that matter.” 

“Obsessed?” Jongin chuckles. “You flatter yourself too much.”

“What do you want to gain from telling me this though? Do you want me to get down on my knees and thank you?” Sehun snaps. 

“Just want to make sure that you thank your boss properly.” Jongin taunts. 

Sehun glares at the other, if this is how Jongin wants to play it then so be it. “Perhaps I will then.” he baits. “I could go to him now, drag him to his office and---would it be better if I suck him off or should I let him fuck me on his desk? What do you think?” 

Jongin’s jaw tautens but he tries to not look affected, Sehun nearly smirks. “Or…” Sehun crawls over to Jongin’s place on the couch. “I could just thank you instead.” He whispers, trailing his fingers over Jongin’s chest. “After all, It’s because of your fake praises that I’m getting a bonus anyways.” 

Jongin gulps, Sehun is nearly straddling him right now. Sehun leans forward, his lips brushing over Jongin’s. When the latter makes no moves to push him away, Sehun simply laughs at his face. “It’s so easy to rile you up, Jongin. Is this why you’re so curious about my relationship with my boss? Are you jealous?” he provokes. 

Jongin’s scowl deepens. “And what if I am?” he asks. 

Sehun’s smug expression falters. He slightly moves back. “Stop playing with me, Kim Kai.” he scoffs.

“So it’s suddenly Kai now?” Jongin arches an eyebrow at him. 

“This is going nowhere.” Sehun attempts to get up but Jongin pulls him back. He crashes against Jongin’s chest. “Let go.” he warns. 

“You started it, so we might as well…” Jongin trails off, his hand snakes its way on Sehun’s lower back.

Sehun grins deviously. “You’re a weak, weak man.” he taunts. 

Jongin grapples him until his back is flat on the couch. “You’re no better.” he retorts. 

Sehun clasps his hand on the collar of Jongin’s shirt. “I hate you so much.” he snarls. 

“And you have gotten under my skin.” Jongin remarks. 

“Shut up.” Sehun hisses before aggressively pulling him. Jongin’s lips met his and began kissing him mercilessly. He doesn’t even give Sehun a moment to breathe. It was messy and sloppy, but it’s just what they both need. It was all teeth and tongue with lots of lip biting. He’s never kissed Jongin like this before, it’s even more brutal than their previous kisses not too long ago. 

It’s a push and pull. Sehun pushing him back to get on top of him, Jongin pulling him back onto his lap, Sehun pushing him again to get up from the couch, Jongin pulling him against his body before pushing his back against the wall. 

If the music outside wasn’t so loud, they would have been more careful but neither of them could care less. Jongin takes off his jacket and shirt then tosses them onto the floor, Sehun wasn’t even done unbuttoning his shirt when Jongin pins his wrists onto the wall. 

He resumes kissing him, Sehun raises his knee to rub it against Jongin’s crotch. Jongin lets out a hiss before pulling Sehun and slamming his front onto the dressing table, the same table where he had him pinned the last time they were making out. 

Jongin places two of his fingers in front of Sehun’s lips. “Have them nice and wet, I don’t want to hurt you.” Jongin rasps. 

Oh, the irony of that statement. Sehun doesn’t make a comment and parts his lips instead. He licks the fingers first before sucking on them. Jongin presses them against his tongue, Sehun whimpers as he swirls his tongue against them. 

“You should look at yourself right now.” Jongin comments. He uses his other hand to pull Sehun’s hair, his head tilts upwards in a straining angle but it was enough for him to see his reflection in the mirror. He meets the other’s eyes in the mirror to glare at him. 

“Alright fine,” Jongin snickers as he pulls his fingers out. He starts unbuckling Sehun’s belt and pulls his pants along with his underwear all the way to his knees. He rubs his lubricated fingers over Sehun’s hole first before plunging two in one go. 

“Fuck,” Sehun moans, his thighs quivering. 

Jongin pumps and curls his fingers simultaneously as he searches for his prostate. Sehun stands on his tiptoes and pushes his ass back against Jongin’s fingers. 

“Needy bitch.” Jongin grunts. 

“Fuck me,” Sehun says breathlessly. 

Jongin pulls his hair again. “Say my name,” he whispers. 

Sehun bites his lip as he feels another wave of arousal. He never did something like this with Jongin before. He has always been loving and gentle to him four years ago. Sehun only experienced rough treatment like this with some of his hookups. 

That’s it. A hookup. That’s what Jongin is to him at the moment. He’s no longer his lover. 

“Use your words, Sehun.” Jongin groans. 

“Fuck me,” he pants. “Jongin, please.” 

Jongin smirks. He unzips his pants and pulls out his half hard length. He spits on his hand and strokes his cock while his fingers continue to move inside Sehun. When he finally pushes in, Sehun keens that his forehead lightly hits the table. 

He chokes on his breath and he feels tears forming on his eyes due to the sudden stretch. Jongin runs his fingers through Sehun’s hair, a sudden soft gesture to calm him down. “You okay?” he drapes himself all over Sehun’s back, lips brushing against Sehun’s ear. 

Sehun takes a deep breath. “Move.” 

Jongin thrusts slowly and deeply at first. Sehun's knuckles were nearly turning white from how hard he's gripping the table. "I'm gonna fuck you hard, Sehun." he bites the other's ear. 

Sehun parts his knees even more and nods. Jongin starts snapping his hips faster and harder causing him to whimper. "Aah, is… is this the hardest you can do?" he provokes.

Without warning, Jongin suddenly grabs him by the arm to yank him up until his back is against his front. Sehun moans wantonly when he feels Jongin's cock in a much deeper angle. 

Jongin has one hand just over Sehun's throat while he hooks the other under one of Sehun's thighs to spread him further. "Has anyone fucked you like this before?" Jongin grunts against his ear.

The scene Sehun sees in front of him in the mirror is just so vulgar. His shirt is unbuttoned, his hair is a mess, his face is flushed, his cock is erect and drooling with precum and Jongin… fuck, Jongin looks so inviting, he looks ready to ravish him. 

Jongin thrusts up into him. He throws his head back and moans, his moans got louder to the point that Jongin had to clasp his other hand over his mouth. "Has your boss fucked you like this? Is he this good?" Jongin hissed as he continuously pounds into him. Sehun arches against him, Jongin was hitting all the right places and it just feels so damn good. His legs were so close to giving in and he felt his whole body shuddering. 

Jongin lets go of his thigh and pushes him back down on the table. He pulls out and slams back in. Sehun is so close to seeing stars. "J-Jongin, please…" he cries. 

Jongin feels his cock throbbing. He angles his thrusts and hits Sehun's prostate dead on. "No matter how many men you sleep with, I'll always be your first. Your body will always remember me." 

Sehun can't stop the moans and gasps that were coming out of him. He feels like a slut. Like Jongin's slut. 

More tears fall from his eyes as he feels himself edging closer. Jongin reaches down and starts stroking his cock. Sehun writhes and sobs his name, much to his satisfaction. It only takes a few pumps until Sehun is coming all over his hand. 

Jongin pulls out. He manhandles Sehun to turn around and pushes him down on his knees. "Open up," 

Sehun, despite barely having any time to come down from his high, opens his mouth. Jongin pumps his cock a few times and comes inside Sehun's mouth. Sehun swallows it all. 

Sehun feels like he couldn't breathe. He got so lost in the pleasure that he feels like collapsing right now. He wanted to slump himself on the floor and curl himself into a ball but Jongin pulled him up. 

Luckily, there was a box of tissues and wet wipes on the table. They silently clean themselves up before getting dressed. Sehun winces when he sees his reflection. He looks so… _fucked,_ both figuratively and literally _._ He doesn't even know how he'll walk out of there without looking like he just got the roughest and most mind-blowing sex of his lifetime. 

They proceed to clean the room afterwards. They can't leave even a small hint of sex in the room. Sehun wipes the table for any traces of their handprints, he fills up the trash bin with more trash other than tissues and he sprays air freshener in the room. 

Once he is done, he looks over to Jongin who's currently sitting on the couch. He looks like he's in deep thought. "You should go." Sehun mutters. 

Jongin gets up. He looks like he wanted to tell Sehun something but he doesn't say anything. "What is it?" Sehun asks it himself. 

Jongin steps towards him with a blank expression on his face. "You are not to tell anyone about this, not even your intern." he says. 

Sehun visibly frowns at that. "You don't have to tell me that, I won't tell a soul." 

"I have to be sure." Jongin says. "We… crossed the line this time. It's better to be safe." 

Sehun exhales. "What do you plan to do then?" 

"Give me your bank details, I can wire you money after this. Perhaps that will surely keep you quiet." 

Among everything that Jongin has done to and told him today, that one was probably the most hurtful. "Don't treat me like a whore, Jongin." he says through gritted teeth. 

"That's not what I'm doing Sehun." Jongin explains.

Sehun shakes his head. "I have my pride. When I say that I won't tell anyone, then I won't tell anyone. Tonight has been a big mistake for both of us. Don't worry and just go." 

Jongin frowns but he sighs and steps back. "I'm leaving." he says. 

Sehun watches him as he leaves the room. The loud music was still ongoing outside so the party is still on. Once the door closes, Sehun crouches down on the floor and buries his face on his knees in frustration. 

How can he be so stupid? He ends up regretting everything all too quickly. He's supposed to hate Jongin… 

But why is he so hurt when he didn't trust him enough to keep a secret? 

He stays in the dressing room for God knows how long. Soon enough, someone enters the room but Sehun doesn't even bother to look up from where he's still seated on the floor. "Sehun? I thought you'd be here." he looks up to give Sejeong a small smile. 

The intern instantly frowns when she sees him. "What happened?" she asks. 

Sehun simply shakes his head. "It's nothing." His voice cracks.

Sejeong doesn't say anything else after that. Instead, she gently pats his back. "It will be okay. It will be okay." She comfortingly says. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


"A photoshoot?" Sehun exclaims. "I thought I only had to work with him until the launch?" 

"It's an honor to work with Kim Kai. I thought you'd be excited." Baekhyun cocks an eyebrow at him. 

Sehun purses his lips. "I'm just… I miss working with other clients. I feel like I'm suddenly so exclusive to him for the past weeks." he lies. 

"This photoshoot with Marie Claire is the last one." Baekhyun says. "You won't be working with him for a while after that since we won't be launching new designs until next season." 

Sehun inaudibly groans. "Okay fine. I'll work with him for this photoshoot." 

Baekhyun smiles, pleased. "By the way, you still haven't told me about your favorite runway look. I haven't given you your reward yet." 

"I don't need it, sir." He politely declines.

Baekhyun's brows furrow. "Surely, there must be something I can do for you at least? Jisoo got a bonus too because Jennie liked working with her too." 

Sehun thought about it for a moment, then an idea struck him. "Sejeong's internship ends in two weeks, just hire her." 

"Do you like her that much?" Baekhyun asks. 

"She's like the younger sister and best friend I never had. I'd love to keep working with her." 

Baekhyun chuckles. "Fine, consider it done." 

Sehun smiles, he hasn't felt this happy since the incident last week. "Thank you." 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"You've been smoking more often for the past week." Sejeong says when Sehun returns from his 'break' outside. 

"I can't help it. I'm sorry if it bothers you." Sehun says guiltily. 

"It's alright, you only do it when you are alone anyways." Sejeong shrugs. "But you should find a way to stop soon. It's not healthy." 

"It's just been pretty stressful lately." Sehun sighs. 

Sejeong looks over at Jongin. He's doing his photoshoot for Marie Claire and they're just halfway done. "I can't blame you if you're stressed." 

The photoshoot started two hours ago. Meeting Jongin again after what happened at the after party has been awkward. Sehun tries to look professional but his disinterest to work with Jongin is obviously written all over his face. Jongin was not his usual self too. He's quiet and broody, Jongdae says it's because he's busy preparing for his album but Sehun knows otherwise. 

He just doesn't specifically understand why Jongin would be affected as well. He managed to act normal with Sehun after kissing him twice but why can't he do the same now? 

Sehun decides to not dwell on it. He'll just have to focus on his job now. After this, they're out of each other's lives once again. 

When the photographer says that it’s a wrap, it felt like Sehun could breathe again. He was currently packing up and was ready to call it a day when Jongdae suddenly entered the dressing room and saw him. 

“Don’t you and Sejeong want to stay behind for a bit?” Jongdae asks. “Your boss sent a food truck for everyone that worked today.” Sehun contemplates on what excuse he could give but the manager read his expression well. “I do hope that you still take my advice about dealing with this like adults.” he says with concern.

“It’s… complicated.” Sehun grumbles.

“Look, I really don’t want to probe but I’m just worried for the both of you.” Jongdae says. 

“I appreciate it, but I think we’ll handle it just fine.” Sehun sounded like he was trying to convince himself. 

“If you say so, you are adults after all.” Jongdae gives him a knowing look.

Sehun and Sejeong leave the set but not before saying their goodbyes to the staff. Sehun meets Jongin’s eyes right as he is leaving and he notices how tired the other looks. Sehun simply gives a nod before leaving. 

That night, Sehun tossed and turned on his bed but he couldn’t get any sleep. He shouldn’t be feeling bad though, this is what he wanted all along. Jongin ignoring him should have made him feel better but he feels bad about it instead. 

Sehun was slowly getting swallowed up by his thoughts when he heard a soft knock on his door. Frowning, he gets up and slightly opens the door to take a peek outside. What he didn’t expect is to see Jongin, waiting outside. 

The other was all wrapped up, jacket, scarf and cap. He nearly looks unrecognizable but Sehun can recognize him in a heartbeat. “What are you doing here?” Sehun asks. “What if someone sees you?” 

“We need to talk.” Jongin says, sounding tired.

Sehun sighs, he grabs Jongin’s arm and pulls him in before closing the door. “It’s dangerous to be out this late. You’re a celebrity, what were you thinking?” he asks.

Jongin takes off his scarf and cap, he really looks exhausted. “I feel like this is the only way to get you to talk to me.” 

Sehun frowns, well there’s no excuse for him to avoid him this time. “Okay, let’s talk.” he sighs in defeat. 

They settle down on either end of the couch, keeping the distance in between them. Jongin scans his apartment first while Sehun patiently waits. 

“Is this about the after party?” Sehun starts. “I haven’t told anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about.” 

“It’s not that.” Jongin interjects. “It’s about everything that happened before that. It’s about us.” Sehun anxiously bites on his lip. “Will you please let me explain everything to you? I know you hate me and I know you want to keep hating me but let me clear things up.” 

“To clear your conscience?” Sehun asks bitterly. 

“No, it’s not like that.” Jongin shakes his head. “I just don’t want any more misunderstandings.” 

“Fine.” Sehun purses his lips. “I’ll listen.”

Jongin takes a deep breath before looking at Sehun. “I was still dating you when I auditioned. I wanted to surprise you once I’m sure I’d get accepted.” he starts. “One day I got the call and I was told to come to the company then I received the good news but… they gave me a condition.” he explains. “They did a background check and they found out about you. They said I have a bright future ahead of me and I was super talented but the fans wouldn’t like it if I was taken already.” 

Sehun digs his nails against his palms. “So you chose to leave me.” he finishes.

“It was my dream… and I worked hard to the point that I couldn’t back out. I thought dumping you would help us move on faster. But a few months later, I couldn’t take it so I secretly tried contacting you again but I couldn't find you anymore. I assumed that you probably hate me and that it’s better off that way. But god…” he tiredly rubs his palms on his face. “When I meet you again, I’m reminded of how much I regret everything.” 

Sehun never felt so frustrated his whole life. “You should have told me,” his voice breaks. “You should have told me years ago and I would’ve understood.”

“It was a selfish choice, Sehun… I didn’t think you would understand.” 

“You didn’t trust me.” Sehun bites back a sob. “You didn’t trust me that I could accept your choice back then and you didn’t trust me that I could keep a secret last week.”

“I’m sorry.” Jongin says. “Last week was out of the line… I shouldn’t have done that. I was so confused. I’ve been so confused ever since I met you again. It was a push and pull. I didn’t know if I should try to fix things with you or if… I should just let you resent me.” 

“Why did you kiss me?” Sehun asks. 

Jongin looks at him grimly. “The same reason you kissed me, I guess.” 

“Desperation?” Sehun laughs bitterly. “Frustration? Denial? Longing?” 

“Everything.” he hung his head. 

  
  


They were engulfed in silence for a moment. It was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. Jongin speaks up first. “I’m sorry, I should have talked to you sooner. I should not have waited for things to be too late. I know I hurt you and I know it’s my fault that you’ve been so reckless.” 

“It’s not your fault.” Sehun says lifelessly. “I’m the fool that can’t cope well. But I just think this is so… unfair.” 

“Unfair?” Jongin repeats.

“It’s unfair how you left my life so suddenly… I was a wreck and I tried fixing myself. I spent the past four years forgetting you and hating you but now you’re suddenly back. You came back and my life just turned upside down once again.” he sobs. “I want to get over you. I want to get over you so badly, Jongin.”

“No amount of bad habits or _whoring_ myself out could even make me forget you.” Sehun snivels. “It’s pathetic, right?” 

Jongin shakes his head. “You know, I’m a celebrity and I should be used to some people not liking me. But it bothered me so much when it’s you. I was torn between letting you be or wanting you to like me again that I ended up being an asshole to you.” 

Sehun wipes his tears away. “Well I was a bitch to you.” he laughs humorlessly. 

  
  


They stayed like that for a while. It was a lot to think about and it is all so ridiculous how they could have avoided all of this if only they communicated well. 

“What happens now?” Sehun asks, sounding completely clueless.

“The photoshoot was my last schedule with your company. We’ll be away from each other for a while.” Jongin answers. “But… we don’t have to part on bad terms this time.” 

Is Jongin going to give him the closure he always needed? “Yeah… I suppose so.” 

“But do you want to?” 

“Want to what?”

“Part ways.” 

Sehun is silent for a moment. “It’s not like it’s avoidable.”

“You know what I mean, Sehun.” Jongin says. 

“I think… we should give each other time.” Sehun says. “Time to think about things and time to heal.”

“And when the time is right?” Jongin asks.

“Then maybe we can get a second chance.” 

Jongin smiles for the first time that night. “I think I like the sound of that.” 

Jongin had to leave a few minutes later since it was way past midnight already. The atmosphere is so much lighter compared to when he arrived earlier. This time, they’re able to say their goodbyes without feeling burdened. Jongin even gives him a hug before he goes and honestly, Sehun wishes it lasted longer. 

Maybe things will get better from now on. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


Turns out things did not get better because everytime Sehun thinks that something good can happen to him, life gives him another shitstorm. He was suddenly summoned in Baekhyun’s office first thing in the morning and from the looks of it, bad news was coming to him. His boss gives him a scrutinizing stare the moment he stepped in his office. 

“I won’t prolong this any longer, do you care to explain what’s going on in these?” Baekhyun slams a folder against his desk. 

Sehun gulps before opening the folder. He freezes and it feels like his voice is caught in his throat. “So? Care to explain?” Baekhyun asks.

They were pictures of him and Jongin when they were still dating and some new pictures of them in Jongin’s car and at his apartment. Someone was following Jongin all along. “These are pictures from Jongin’s agency.” Baekhyun adds. “Apparently someone from his agency thought you were familiar during the day of the CF filming, they did their research and found out that you were Jongin’s ex. Since then someone has followed you.” 

Sehun feels like he couldn’t breathe. It was too much. This can’t be happening. “No one can find out about this.” Sehun says. 

“No shit.” Baekhyun chuckles. “That’s why the pictures are sent to me, it’s a warning.” 

“If they want me to break up with Jongin, then it’s already done. I’m not in a relationship with him.” Sehun explains. 

“There’s a picture of you kissing him Sehun, you cannot fool anyone.” Baekhyun slams his fist on the desk. 

Sehun flinches. “W-what’s going to happen? Jongin--Kai, he’s not in trouble is he?” he asks. 

“He won’t be, if we follow what his agency wants.” Baekhun says.

“What do they want?” 

“They want me to fire you, Sehun.” Baekhyun answers. 

Sehun tries his best to not look shocked but it’s too late for that. “If I get fired, will his career be fine?” Baekhyun nods. Sehun closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “Fine, I’ll quit instead.”

His boss narrows his eyes at him. “That easy? Are you not even going to fight for your right to stay?” 

“If I stay, I’m sure it would cause more problems with our company and Jongin’s agency. You worked hard to have Jongin as the face of your campaign, I can’t risk that.” Sehun’s voice wavered. 

“Sehun,” Baekhyun frowns. 

“Please Baekhyun, I’m asking as a friend.” Sehun pleads. “Just tell them that I’d quit. They don’t have to pressure you for it.” 

“Sehun, I don’t understand. Is your job not important to you?” Baekhyun exclaims. 

“Of course it’s important!” Sehun blurts. “This job means a lot to me but I can’t jeopardize this company and Jongin’s career all because of my dumb mistakes.” 

“It’s not like you’re the only one at fault, Kai was clearly careless too.” Baekhyun reasons. 

“Baekhyun, what do you want me to do?” 

“I think we could settle this with his agency. Talk it out.” Baekhyun shrugs. 

“Please don’t.” he cuts him off. “Aren’t you supposed to be mad at me?” 

“I’m disappointed but I don’t want to lose you because of that.” Baekhyun replies. “You’re one of my best employees, you’re a friend…”

“I’m a good lay,” Sehun laughs humorlessly. 

Baekhyun frowns at him. “You know it’s not just that.” 

“I already made my decision. You have to let me go. For the sake of the company and for Jongin’s sake. I’m begging you.” 

Baekhyun sighs in defeat. “I can’t force you to stay if that’s what you want. Send your resignation papers to my secretary and we’ll have it processed. I’ll give Kai’s boss a call.” 

“Thank you.” Sehun bows before leaving. 

He doesn’t return to his office immediately. Instead, he rushes to the studio and locks himself in one of the empty dressing rooms. The moment he’s sure he’s alone, he breaks down. This is all his fault. 

  
  
  
  


It all just gets worse when Jongin finds out a few days later. He was staying at home, slowly coming to terms with his unemployment, when he hears excessive knocking on his door. 

He nearly screams when Jongin immediately pushes himself through the threshold the moment he opens the door. 

"J-Jongin?! What the hell?" he gasps. 

"You shouldn't be here." Sehun says. 

"Is that all you can say to me? You're not even going to tell me that you lost your job?" Sehun averts his gaze. 

"It's better off if I quit." Sehun mutters as he crosses his arms. "I can always find another job but my company can't afford to lose the deal with you and the same goes for your career." 

"And you decided about this on your own?" Jongin paces his room in frustration. He suddenly halts when he notices the lack of things in the place, he also sees the boxes and luggage bag at one corner of the studio apartment. "What's going on?" he turns to the other for an answer. 

Sehun can't even look him in the eyes. "Baekhyun feels bad about me quitting so he gave me a letter of recommendation to work somewhere else." he explains. "And your agency also knows about my place and the media might find out eventually so it's best if I leave." 

Jongin looks at him guiltily. "Where are you going?" 

"Paris." 

Jongin looks at him in disbelief. "What?" he rasps. "Are you leaving for good? You don't have to go that far. I can convince my company, I can… sue the people that will invade your privacy. You don't have to make sacrifices like this." 

"I won't stay in Paris forever." Sehun says softly. "I just think that I… need a new start. You don't have to risk anything, Jongin. I don't want you to do that for me." he steps closer to grab Jongin's hand. "This career is your dream and I don't want to take that away from you." 

Jongin abruptly shakes his head. "Fuck that." he curses. "I sacrificed you once for my career and that's enough. I can't do that again. I can't let you go through this again." 

Sehun feels his heart breaking at the pain he hears from Jongin's voice. "Hey," he gently says as he caresses Jongin's cheek. "This time it's me doing the sacrifice, not you. This time I'll deal with it better. This time we're not parting on bad terms. So please, don't do something you'd regret. Please don't throw away your dream because of me. I'll be fine, I promise." 

Tears start falling from Jongin's eyes and Sehun can't help but sob too. "What's the point of all of this if I'm going to lose you again?" Jongin asks. 

"You won't lose me." Sehun snivels. "You never lost me. Because despite everything that happened… I've always been yours." 

Jongin pulls him for a tight embrace and Sehun feels like his whole world stopped. "I wish you didn't have to go." 

"Maybe this is part of the time that we need to give each other." Sehun smiles bitterly. "When the time is right, we'll meet again then we'll get that second chance. Hopefully by that time, we don't have to let each other go again." 

Jongin looks at him, his eyes brimming with tears. "You're saying that but you're crying too." he tells Sehun. 

"I'll miss you." Sehun cries out. "At least it was easier to distract myself when I was mad at you, this time I don't know what to do." he jokes. 

"You have to promise me that you won't attempt to forget about me this time. I don't want you to try… ruining yourself again because of me." Jongin pleads. 

"I promise. No more bad habits." Sehun says. 

"I'll miss you too." Jongin blurts. 

Sehun kisses him, tears and all. Jongin cups his face and kisses him back. Sehun desperately clings to him and pours all his caged emotions into the kiss. 

"When are you going?" Jongin asks when they part.

"I'm going to Paris next week but I'll be returning to my hometown tomorrow morning." Sehun answers.

Jongin winces. "I'll be busy starting tomorrow. I can't even send you off." 

"It's okay." Sehun assures. "You're here now, and that means a lot." 

Jongin kisses him again on the lips then he slowly trails down. Sehun closes his eyes and bares his neck for him. "Jongin, can you please…" he breathes out. 

Jongin hums as he continues to kiss Sehun. He slowly leads him to the bed where he continues to leave kisses on almost every inch of Sehun's skin. 

It was so different compared to what happened in the dressing room. It was slow, gentle and caring but for some reason it hurts even more. It hurts because they know this is their goodbye, their farewell. 

Jongin looks at him lovingly as he thrusted deeply in him and Sehun cries out his name like a mantra. When Jongin comes inside of him right after he just reached his own climax, he pulls Jongin down to kiss him once again. 

If this happened under different circumstances, he would have been the happiest person alive. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**_Four years later…_ **

  
  


Sehun smiles proudly as more people continue to greet and congratulate him. He smiles at the cameras everytime someone calls his name to grab his attention. 

Someone steps beside him and hands him a champagne flute. He smiles before clinking their glasses together and drinking. 

"I think I could get used to this." 

Sehun grins before bumping fists with Sejeong. "Definitely." 

  
  


When he left for Paris, he didn't expect Sejeong to tag along with him. He even argued with her and told her that he has a secured full time job at their company after her internship but she insisted that she refuses to work with anyone other than him. She managed to convince Baekhyun to let her go as well, they both got a long lecture on the phone from Baekhyun because of that. He told them to take care of each other and get along well.

Their first year in Paris was a bit difficult. They struggled because of the language barrier and they had to start from scratch once again. They were no longer supervisor and intern but partners. They got promoted in their second year and they saved up enough money and continued to work hard on their third year. 

Now in their fourth year, they decided to launch their own cosmetic line, _S & S Beauty. _ It was difficult and stressful but it was all worth it in the end. He remembers the time during the fashion launch four years ago, they were standing on the sidelines drinking champagne too and now here they are _still_ drinking champagne but for their own event. 

"Baekhyun gave me a call, he said he wants to sign a deal with us for a collaboration." Sejeong mentions. 

Sehun snorts. "Tell him to get in line, we have other offers too." 

"That's what I said." Sejeong giggles. "He said we're such ungrateful brats but he said he's happy for us and he sends his congratulations." 

Sehun chuckles. "Reply to those messages later, we have to woo more investors tonight." 

"Actually, I talked to a potential investor earlier. I was hoping you'd talk to them too." Sejeong mentions. 

"Oh you did? I should introduce myself then." Sehun says as he straightens his suit. 

"You really should--oh wait here they are." Sejeong gasps excitedly.

"Okay here goes, do I look professional enough?" 

"You worry too much." a familiar voice joins in.

  
  


Sehun's eyes widen comically and he freezes on the spot while Sejeong covers her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud.

Sehun quickly turns around and he nearly gives himself a whiplash. There, right in front of him is Jongin in the flesh. 

Sehun turns to Sejeong then back at Jongin. He can't believe it. 

"I believe we've met before." Jongin reaches out his hand and grins cheekily.

Sehun pushes his hand away and pulls him for a hug instead. It's embarrassing how overwhelmed he felt at that moment, if he wasn't in public he would've started bawling. 

"You haven't been replying to my messages." Jongin says as he pats Sehun's back. 

Sehun sniffles. "I've been busy." he grumbles. "But… since when were you planning to come?" 

  
  


It's not like they lost connections or anything. They exchanged texts and they met whenever Jongin had to attend Paris Fashion Week but other than that they never really met like this. 

"I've booked this flight the moment you finalized the day of your launch." Jongin says. "Of course I am only updated all because of Sejeong." 

Sehun turns to his partner. "Sejeong?" 

Sejeong grins. "I've been in contact with him since we went here. Every time you're too busy with work, I'd update him about your whereabouts." 

Sehun smiles gratefully at her. "What would I do without you?" 

"You two are the dream team. I can't let your story end so tragically." she giggles. 

Sehun laughs at that. She's the best. "So..." Jongin hums. "Four years was long enough, don't you think?" 

Sehun releases his hold on Jongin. "Definitely long enough." 

"Do you think the time is right?" 

Sehun slowly nods. "As right as it will ever be." 

"A second chance then?" Jongin asks. 

"As many chances as we get." 

"Not to ruin the moment or anything but should I leave you two? Because I'm sure a lot of people would want to speak with Sehun tonight." Sejeong interjects. 

"He's all yours, I can wait until later." Jongin says. "I've waited for four years, an hour is nothing to me."

Sehun smiles at Jongin. "I'll be back later." 

Jongin kisses his cheek before letting him go. "You better be." 

Sejeong's exaggerated groan catches their attention. "Okay lovebirds, we really need to work. You have all the time in the world to catch up later." 

Both of them laugh at that. Sejeong is right, they do have all the time in the world. It has been one hell of a rollercoaster ride for Sehun. He's lucky that he's with the right people throughout it all. It may have been stressful, wild and very frustrating but as crazy as it seems, Sehun is done regretting. 

Eight years ago, they broke up. Four years ago, they met again but it was not the right time. Now four years later, they finally get their second chance and Sehun has no intentions of letting it slip away this time.


End file.
